National Guard Called To U.S. Capitol As Police Clash With Donald Trump Supporters Who Stormed Building; One Reported Shot
Refresh for updates... The U.S. Capitol is in chaos today as police have drawn guns on and are clashing with pro-Donald Trump protesters who breached the U.S Capitol Building as Congress was convening to certify the presidential election.
Media reports of threats and violence from the crowd are coming in by the second. The Associated Press, Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets are reporting that one person has been shot and critically wounded in the melee.
Trump urged protesters at the Capitol to “stay peaceful,” but he has not instructed them to disperse from the complex, where his supporters have breached the barricades and have been wandering through some of the halls near House and Senate chambers. One was pictured in the chair of Senate Majority Leader Mitch MConnell, and another was sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump has called out the National Guard to help with the situation:
Trump tweeted earlier: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
“This is so un-American. I condemn any of the violence that is happening in the Capitol right now,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News.
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Donald Trump Tells Protesters To 'Stay Peaceful,' But Does Not Call For Them To Disperse From Capitol
On CNN, Fox News and other networks were images of authorities in the House chamber, with their guns drawn, as protesters pounded on the door outside. There were other images of those in the chamber on the floor of the House gallery, sheltering in place.
There also are photos of protesters in the Senate chamber, with one demonstrator in the chair of the presiding officer, saying that Trump won the election.
McCarthy said that he spoke by phone to Trump to say that “we need to make a statement to calm these people down.” Trump urged the demonstrators to be peaceful, but he said nothing about them vacating the premises.
Trump’s former communications director, Alyssa Farah, tweeted that the president should “condemn this now.” “You are the only one they will listen to,” she wrote.
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