Shortly after 1pm ET hundreds of pro-Trump protesters were pushed through obstacles set up on the outskirts of the Capitol, where they clashed with officials in full riot gear, some calling for the “spy” officers for their work. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators entered the building and the doors of the House and Senate were locked. Shortly afterwards, the floor of the House was evacuated by police.
An armed stance was held at the front door of the House as 3pm ET, and the guns of police officers were pulled at someone trying to break it. The Trump supporter pictured also stood at the Senate dash earlier in the afternoon. A woman is in a critical condition after being breastfed for capitol reasons, according to two sources familiar with the case. The sources could not provide further information about the location of the firing. Multiple officers were injured with at least one of them transported to the hospital, several sources tell CNN.
Smoke grenades were used on the Senate side of the Capitol, as police work to clear up a riot. Windows on the west side of the Senate have been smashed, and hundreds of officials are gathering on the first floor of the building.
The floor of the Senate was cleared of rioters as of 3:30 pm ET, and an official told CNN that they have been pushed away from the Senate wing in the building and toward the Rotunda, and that they take them out of the east and west. the doors of the Capitol.
It is not clear if any of the individuals were arrested.
Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated from Capitol, where he was to fulfill his role in counting election votes.
The spectacular display of rebellion was the first U.S. Capitol to be dismantled since the British invaded and burned the building in August 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and scholarship. operations with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Trump has directed the National Guard to Washington along with “other federal defense services,” according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
The entire DC National Guard was deployed by the Department of Defense after a pro-Trump mob breached the United States Capitol.
“The DC Guard was deployed to support federal law enforcement in the region,” said Pentagon chief Jonathan Hoffman. “Acting Secretary Miller has been in contact with the Congressional leadership, and Secretary McCarthy has been working with the DC government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice.”
The Department of Defense had previously received a request from the U.S. Capitol Police for additional DC National Guard forces but no decision has been made, according to a senior defense official.
The official said the DC National Guard did not intend to be used to protect federal resources, and the Trump administration had decided earlier in the week that this was civil law enforcement work, said the officer.
The horrific scene was met with less police force than many of the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the country after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last year. As federal police attacked peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square outside the White House over the summer, they paved the way for Trump to take a photo in front of a nearby church at the time, Wednesday’s protesters were able to overtake Capitol police and enter government chamber legislation.
The presidency of both the House and the Senate is safe and in undisturbed places, according to an acquaintance. An individual lawyer said members of the House had been moved to a place where this source would not be published.
The U.S. Capitol Police are working to secure the second floor of the Capitol first, and will expand from there. Outside the Capitol, the DC Metropolitan Police Department continues to make significant progress, but no major move has yet been made toward the public.
A Capitol police officer in the House chamber told lawyers they may have to throw under their chairs and tell lawyers there were protesters in the building’s Rotunda. Many members of the House were seen wearing a gas mask as they moved between Capitol buildings. Members called on a family to say they are OK.
Trump finally called on his supporters to “go home” hours after the riots began, but he spent a lot of time in the video one minute lamenting and lying about his election loss.
In one amazing line, Trump told the mob “to go home,” but he said, “We love you. You’re very special.”
Trump struck a tone of sympathy for the protesters who let himself say, “I know your pain, I know you are hurt. We had a choice that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election. It was a mountain and everyone knows it.. But you must go home now. We must have peace. “
Others within the President’s orbit quietly made their calls as the mob tried to take over the building again.
President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. said his supporters who sent the Capitol were “wrong and not who we are.”
“Be at peace and exercise your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start working like the other way around. We have a country to save and this will not help anyone,” he tweeted.
The protesters have breached outside security barriers, and video footage shows protesters gathering and some fighting with police near the Capitol building. A CNN team on the ground saw several protesters trying to go up the side of the Capitol building. A number of loud bangs were heard.
Protesters were seen pushing against metal fences as police used the fences to push protesters back, with other officers reaching over the top to club people trying to stab. to cross their lines.
Flash brakes could be heard near the steps of the Capitol as smoke filled the air. In some cases officers are seen using pepper spray. Tear gas was injected, but it is unclear whether it was protesters or police, and people would wipe tears from their eyes while coughing.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has just announced a nationwide curfew from 6pm ET Wednesday to 6pm ET Thursday.
Federal and local law enforcement are responding to reports of possible pipe bombs in several locations in Washington DC, according to a federal law enforcement officer. It is not clear whether the devices are real or false, but they are treated as real things.
A pipe bomb was found at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee earlier Wednesday, an RNC official told CNN. The device was found on the ground outside, all over the head office wall. He was safely destroyed by police, an RNC official said.
At least two suspected pipe bombs were disposed of safely by law enforcement, including the one at the RNC office building and one at the U.S. Capitol building, a federal law enforcement official told CNN. The officer said they were real explosives and were safely detonated.
A Democratic National Committee was also evacuated after investigating a suspicious package nearby, a Democrat source familiar with the matter told CNN. The party had closed the building preemptively ahead of the protests, the source said, but a few security guards and critical staff were evacuated.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.