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Then-senior White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon, left, listens as President Donald Trump speaks on March 13, 2017. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Three weeks ago, the unthinkable happened in America: Pro-Trump activists stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Except for many, it was quite thinkable. It was thought aloud in some cases.

As former president Donald Trump faces his second impeachment trial, Republicans are generally doing everything they can to avoid engaging on his actual culpability in sparking the insurrection. They've instead made process arguments, such as saying that convicting him now that he is out of office would be unconstitutional.

To the extent they have addressed his conduct, they've cherry-picked a comment from his speech before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in which he told people to head to the Capitol but said they should protest "peacefully." But this was interspersed with a series of mixed messages that at least some interpreted as advocating drastic measures. Trump has repeatedly toyed with the prospect of violence by his supporters, and whether he bears responsibility for inciting them in this particular case, this was hardly an unforeseen event.

Indeed, it was more or less predicted by both Trump allies and critics.

The day before the attack, former top Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon said on his podcast, " All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. It's going to be moving. It's going to be quick."

He added: "So many people said, 'Man, if I was in revolution, I would be in Washington.' Well, this is your time in history."

And: "It's all converging, and now we're on the point of attack tomorrow. ... And all I can say is: Strap in. You have made this happen, and tomorrow it's game day."

Bannon's comments might not have explicitly referenced actual violence - political rhetoric tends to be littered with war metaphors, after all - but he was clearly predicting something more substantial than your standard peaceful protest. Bannon, who was indicted last year and been pardoned by Trump before he left office. He was also banned by Twitter for talking about putting "heads on pikes" a couple months earlier.

Bannon's Jan. 5 comments also echoed Trump's mid-December tweet promoting the rally, which he promised "will be wild."

Other prominent supporters also cast the date in revolutionary terms on the eve of the storming, including freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who said at 8:30 that morning, "Today is 1776" - referring to the Revolutionary War. Other members of Congress invoked similar metaphors.

Pro-Trump online forums featured myriad predictions of calls for violence, including users repeatedly responding to a thread by saying, "storm the Capitol." One popular comment read, "I'm thinking it will be literal war on that day. ... Where we'll storm offices and physically remove and even kill all the D.C. traitors and reclaim the country." The comments were highlighted by the Daily Beast even before the Capitol attack.

Perhaps the most detailed and prescient prediction came from Arieh Kovler, a political analyst who studies far-right groups like the Proud Boys.

"On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump's orders," Kovler said on Dec. 21. "It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win. I don't think this has sunk in yet."

He added: "To be clear here, I don't think the 3%ers, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers or boogaloo types are going to seize the Capitol. But some of them are going try. And people will die."

In October, former Trump administration counterterrorism official Elizabeth Neumann made a similar, if less specific, prediction about Trump claiming a stolen election leading to violence.

"Combined with the president's repeated efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the election and militaristic calls to ' join Army for Trump's election security operation,' law enforcement and counterterrorism officials have expressed concerns to me that the president's rhetoric will lead to more civil unrest and violence," Neumann wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.

New York Times columnist Kara Swisher also envisioned such a scenario as far back as 2019, saying she often asked people what could be done "if Mr. Trump loses the 2020 election and tweets inaccurately the next day that there had been widespread fraud and, moreover, that people should rise up in armed insurrection to keep him in office."

Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling, a Republican, made a direct plea to Trump after he and others who certified Joe Biden's presidential win in their state were threatened.

"Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence," Sterling said Dec. 1. "Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get shot. Someone's going to get killed."

But the predictions weren't limited to present-day Trump critics. Even some allies predicted something remarkably similar to what we saw today - albeit a long time ago, when they were trying to defeat him in the 2016 campaign.

Nikki Haley, who later became Trump's United Nations ambassador and who suggested this week that it's time to "move on" from the Capitol attack, predicted in 2016 that Trump's rhetoric could lead to the kind of violence we saw in the church massacre in her home state of South Carolina.

"I know what that rhetoric can do," Haley told the Associated Press. "I saw it happen."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) added earlier that year: "I think a campaign bears responsibility for creating an environment. When a candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence, to punch people in the face, the predictable consequence of that is that it escalates."

And in perhaps the eeriest comments, fellow 2016 Trump challenger Rick Perry - who would later become Trump's energy secretary - in 2015 actually likened Trump's rhetoric to what led to a previous attack on the nation's capital, by members of the Know Nothing Party. Like today's misguided election conspiracists, they too subscribed to an extreme belief: The Pope was planning to take over the United States. So in 1854, they forcibly overtook a guard and destroyed marble slabs that were to be used in the construction of the Washington Monument.

"These people built nothing, created nothing. They existed to cast blame and tear down certain institutions, to give outlet to anger," Perry said. "Donald Trump is the modern-day incarnation of the Know-Nothing movement."

Today, that utterly remarkable parallel to the current moment isn't something Republicans like Perry or Haley have much interest in looking into. Again, whether Trump technically incited the attempted insurrection is a valid question; the legal bar for incitement is high. But given the concerns expressed about just such a situation occurring, it would seem to be something worth having a real conversation about.

Perhaps they believe Trump was simply too cavalier with his rhetoric but didn't technically incite. Perhaps they think their warnings about his rhetoric potentially leading to violence don't actually apply here and that this was merely a bunch of extremists hearing what they wanted to hear from the president.

But given the predictability of this event - and the actual predictions of it - why not have a real debate about all that? Even setting aside direct incitement, there's a real question about what Trump could have done to stop the fervor and even bloodlust. Some Republicans like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) even blamed Trump for not doing more sooner to take down the temperature - though that milder form of censure has faded rather quickly.

It's a thorny issue for a GOP that is wary of alienating Trump's supporters, to be sure, but their own past comments and the sometimes-prescient warnings of plenty of others seem to make it worthy of an accounting.

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Analysis | Who could have predicted the Capitol riot? Plenty of people -- including Trump allies.

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Three weeks ago, the unthinkable happened in America: Pro-Trump activists stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Except for many, it was quite thinkable. It was thought aloud in some cases.

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/politics/capitol-lockdown-fire/index.html

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Four people are dead following Wednesday's violent protests in Washington, D.C., where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.

One woman and two men suffered "medical emergencies" during the anarchy and have subsequently died, according to Robert Contee, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

Another woman was shot and killed during a standoff inside the Capitol between law enforcement and protesters, Conte said. An angry mob of Trump supporters had breached the building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress holed up inside the chambers.

The woman was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer in plainclothes, after "multiple individuals forced entry into the Capitol building" and "attempted to gain access to the House room, which was still in session," according to Conte. She was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead, Conte said.

Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told ABC News he saw the shooting happen, saying he "never thought" he would witness such a scene unfold in the United States.

"I get people being passionate and being frustrated, but there's a right way and and wrong way to do things and yesterday was wrong. There was absolutely no excuse for it," Mullin said in an interview Thursday on "Good Morning America."

"We're very fortunate a lot more people didn't actually lost their life," he added. "One is way too many."

The rioting began Wednesday afternoon after Trump and his allies held a rally earlier in the day, urging Congress to not certify the results of the November presidential election. Trump vowed to "never concede" and urged his supporters "to fight," as he continued to push baseless claims of election fraud.

"All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical Democrats," Trump told the crowd on the Ellipse park, just south of the White House. "We will never give up. We will never concede. It will never happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore."

Protesters -- some of who were seen wearing body armor -- made their way up the Capitol steps around 2:15 p.m. ET, pushing their way through barricades, officers in riot gear and other security measures that were put in place in anticipation of the protest. Once inside the Capitol building, the pro-Trump mob moved freely and shouted chants while holding "Trump 2020" flags. One person was also seen waving a Confederate flag inside the building.

Law enforcement officers inside the building instructed elected officials, staff and journalists to shelter in place as the protesters broke in. In a bulletin sent to Capitol building staff, the U.S. Capitol Police ordered people to lock their doors, remain quiet and silence their electronics.

"If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover," the bulletin said.

As the mob breached the Capitol building, Trump took to Twitter, saying Vice President Mike Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution," and that the "USA demands the truth!" He also tweeted, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

Meanwhile, Pence, who was escorted out of the Capitol building, pleaded for the "violence and destruction" to stop and for anyone involved to "immediately leave the building."

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., tweeted that he and his colleagues inside the House chamber were told by police "to be prepared to get under our chairs" and to put on gas masks because "there has been tear gas used in the rotunda."

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., tweeted that the "Electoral College ballots were rescued from the Senate floor."

"If our capable floor staff hadn't grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob," he added.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters who were with him in a secure position that "this is what the president has caused today, this insurrection."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., released a joint statement around 3:50 p.m., calling on Trump "to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately."

Trump's former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, even called out the president for not doing enough to put an end to the violence.

"He can stop this now and needs to do exactly that. Tell these folks to go home," Mulvaney tweeted.

Following repeated calls from leaders on both sides of the aisle, Trump finally released a video message via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, telling his supporters to go home. But he also continued to push baseless, false claims about the election.

"I know you're in pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us," the president said in the one-minute, prerecorded video. "But you have to go home now."

Twitter removed Trump's tweet with the video, along with two other tweets. At 7 p.m., Twitter announced that it has locked Trump's account for 12 hours and will continue to keep it locked until the tweets are deleted.

"Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," the social network company tweeted.

Later in the night, Facebook announced that it would not allow Trump's official page to post for 24 hours.

The move came just as Trump's successor, President-elect Joe Biden, held a news conference to address the situation. He called on the outgoing president to tell his supporters to stop.

"This is not dissent, it's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now," Biden said. "I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward."

The entire District of Columbia National Guard was activated and the Metropolitan Police Department was deployed to assist the U.S. Capitol Police in dispersing the protesters and restoring order. Several other law enforcement agencies in the region were also deployed to help.

A source told ABC News that Pelosi requested the National Guard's help to secure the Capitol building.

Police declared the scene a riot "due to the violent behavior towards the police officers there and their intent on gaining access to the Capitol," Conte, the D.C. Police chief, said at a press conference Wednesday night.

Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a citywide curfew that began at 6 p.m. and ended Thursday at 6 a.m. She called the violence "shameful, unpatriotic" and "unlawful." Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also declared a 6 p.m. curfew in the nearby cities of Alexandria and Arlington.

It took hours for law enforcement to clear the Capitol building and establish a perimeter around the area. Later in the evening, authorities fired tear gas to disperse the rioters.

As of 9:30 p.m., police had made "in excess of 52 arrests" related to the protests, 26 of which were made on Capitol grounds, according to Conte.

Conte said two pipe bombs were recovered, one at Republican National Committee headquarters and the other at Democratic National Committee headquarters, both of which are located near the Capitol building. A cooler was also recovered from a van on Capitol grounds containing a long gun as well as Molotov cocktails, according to Conte.

Meanwhile, Conte said more than a dozen D.C. Police officers were injured while responding to the protests.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a bulletin on Wednesday night, calling for witnesses to submit information to assist in identifying individuals who were involved with the "rioting and violence" at the Capitol building and in the surrounding area.

Almost exactly 12 hours after the protests began, the U.S. Capitol Police sent a notice to all staffers on Capitol Hill, stating that the threat was cleared and operations could return to normal while police "continue to maintain a security perimeter."

The Senate resumed its session at around 8 p.m., where both Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the violence.

"We will not be kept out of this chamber by mobs or thugs or threats. We will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation," McConnell said. "We are back at our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution and for our nation -- and we're going to do it tonight."

McConnell went on to describe Wednesday's event as a "failed insurrection."

Both the Senate and the House ultimately went on to vote against Republican objections to certify Electoral College votes in the presidential election, with Pence declaring Biden the winner early Thursday morning.

In a statement tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino following the news, Trump said: "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"

It was the first time Trump has publicly accepted Biden's victory and agreed to a peaceful transfer of power.
ABC News' Luke Barr, Jack Date, John Parkinson, Allie Pecorin, Ben Siegel and Trish Turner contributed to this report This report was featured in the Thursday, Jan. 7, 2020, episode of "Start Here," ABC News' daily news podcast. "Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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4 dead after US Capitol breached by pro-Trump mob during 'failed insurrection'

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Four people are dead following Wednesday's violent protests in Washington, D.C., where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. One woman and two men suffered "medical emergencies" during the anarchy and have subsequently died, according to Robert Contee, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

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Rioters break into US Capital as a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes cast in November's election on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

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Brazen Trump supporter invades Nancy Pelosi’s office as thousands storm the Capitol Bldg (1/6/21).

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Four people are dead following Wednesday's violent protests in Washington, D.C., where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.

One woman and two men suffered "medical emergencies" during the anarchy and have subsequently died, according to Robert Contee, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

Another woman was shot and killed during a standoff inside the Capitol between law enforcement and protesters, Conte said. An angry mob of Trump supporters had breached the building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress holed up inside the chambers.

The woman was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer in plainclothes, after "multiple individuals forced entry into the Capitol building" and "attempted to gain access to the House room, which was still in session," according to Conte. She was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead, Conte said.

Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told ABC News he saw the shooting happen, saying he "never thought" he would witness such a scene unfold in the United States.

"I get people being passionate and being frustrated, but there's a right way and and wrong way to do things and yesterday was wrong. There was absolutely no excuse for it," Mullin said in an interview Thursday on "Good Morning America."

"We're very fortunate a lot more people didn't actually lost their life," he added. "One is way too many."

The rioting began Wednesday afternoon after Trump and his allies held a rally earlier in the day, urging Congress to not certify the results of the November presidential election. Trump vowed to "never concede" and urged his supporters "to fight," as he continued to push baseless claims of election fraud.

"All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical Democrats," Trump told the crowd on the Ellipse park, just south of the White House. "We will never give up. We will never concede. It will never happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore."

Protesters -- some of who were seen wearing body armor -- made their way up the Capitol steps around 2:15 p.m. ET, pushing their way through barricades, officers in riot gear and other security measures that were put in place in anticipation of the protest. Once inside the Capitol building, the pro-Trump mob moved freely and shouted chants while holding "Trump 2020" flags. One person was also seen waving a Confederate flag inside the building.

Law enforcement officers inside the building instructed elected officials, staff and journalists to shelter in place as the protesters broke in. In a bulletin sent to Capitol building staff, the U.S. Capitol Police ordered people to lock their doors, remain quiet and silence their electronics.

"If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover," the bulletin said.

As the mob breached the Capitol building, Trump took to Twitter, saying Vice President Mike Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution," and that the "USA demands the truth!" He also tweeted, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

Meanwhile, Pence, who was escorted out of the Capitol building, pleaded for the "violence and destruction" to stop and for anyone involved to "immediately leave the building."

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., tweeted that he and his colleagues inside the House chamber were told by police "to be prepared to get under our chairs" and to put on gas masks because "there has been tear gas used in the rotunda."

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., tweeted that the "Electoral College ballots were rescued from the Senate floor."

"If our capable floor staff hadn't grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob," he added.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters who were with him in a secure position that "this is what the president has caused today, this insurrection."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., released a joint statement around 3:50 p.m., calling on Trump "to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately."

Trump's former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, even called out the president for not doing enough to put an end to the violence.

"He can stop this now and needs to do exactly that. Tell these folks to go home," Mulvaney tweeted.

Following repeated calls from leaders on both sides of the aisle, Trump finally released a video message via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, telling his supporters to go home. But he also continued to push baseless, false claims about the election.

"I know you're in pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us," the president said in the one-minute, prerecorded video. "But you have to go home now."

Twitter removed Trump's tweet with the video, along with two other tweets. At 7 p.m., Twitter announced that it has locked Trump's account for 12 hours and will continue to keep it locked until the tweets are deleted.

"Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," the social network company tweeted.

Later in the night, Facebook announced that it would not allow Trump's official page to post for 24 hours.

The move came just as Trump's successor, President-elect Joe Biden, held a news conference to address the situation. He called on the outgoing president to tell his supporters to stop.

"This is not dissent, it's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now," Biden said. "I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward."

The entire District of Columbia National Guard was activated and the Metropolitan Police Department was deployed to assist the U.S. Capitol Police in dispersing the protesters and restoring order. Several other law enforcement agencies in the region were also deployed to help.

A source told ABC News that Pelosi requested the National Guard's help to secure the Capitol building.

Police declared the scene a riot "due to the violent behavior towards the police officers there and their intent on gaining access to the Capitol," Conte, the D.C. Police chief, said at a press conference Wednesday night.

Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a citywide curfew that began at 6 p.m. and ended Thursday at 6 a.m. She called the violence "shameful, unpatriotic" and "unlawful." Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also declared a 6 p.m. curfew in the nearby cities of Alexandria and Arlington.

It took hours for law enforcement to clear the Capitol building and establish a perimeter around the area. Later in the evening, authorities fired tear gas to disperse the rioters.

As of 9:30 p.m., police had made "in excess of 52 arrests" related to the protests, 26 of which were made on Capitol grounds, according to Conte.

Conte said two pipe bombs were recovered, one at Republican National Committee headquarters and the other at Democratic National Committee headquarters, both of which are located near the Capitol building. A cooler was also recovered from a van on Capitol grounds containing a long gun as well as Molotov cocktails, according to Conte.

Meanwhile, Conte said more than a dozen D.C. Police officers were injured while responding to the protests.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a bulletin on Wednesday night, calling for witnesses to submit information to assist in identifying individuals who were involved with the "rioting and violence" at the Capitol building and in the surrounding area.

Almost exactly 12 hours after the protests began, the U.S. Capitol Police sent a notice to all staffers on Capitol Hill, stating that the threat was cleared and operations could return to normal while police "continue to maintain a security perimeter."

The Senate resumed its session at around 8 p.m., where both Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the violence.

"We will not be kept out of this chamber by mobs or thugs or threats. We will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation," McConnell said. "We are back at our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution and for our nation -- and we're going to do it tonight."

McConnell went on to describe Wednesday's event as a "failed insurrection."

Both the Senate and the House ultimately went on to vote against Republican objections to certify Electoral College votes in the presidential election, with Pence declaring Biden the winner early Thursday morning.

In a statement tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino following the news, Trump said: "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"

It was the first time Trump has publicly accepted Biden's victory and agreed to a peaceful transfer of power.
ABC News' Luke Barr, Jack Date, John Parkinson, Allie Pecorin, Ben Siegel and Trish Turner contributed to this report This report was featured in the Thursday, Jan. 7, 2020, episode of "Start Here," ABC News' daily news podcast. "Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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4 dead after US Capitol breached by pro-Trump mob during 'failed insurrection'

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Four people are dead following Wednesday's violent protests in Washington, D.C., where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. One woman and two men suffered "medical emergencies" during the anarchy and have subsequently died, according to Robert Contee, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

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https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/trump-supporters-gather-in-d-c-as-congress-prepares-to-affirm-bidens-win/

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US President Donald Trump's relentless efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election took a dangerous turn Wednesday, when an armed and angry mob of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill and clashed with police just as Congress convened to validate Joe Biden's presidential win.

A woman was fatally shot in the violence that ensued as pro-Trump protestors breached barricades and advanced into the halls of the Capitol building, smashing windows and brawled with police officers in what is widely being considered one of the worst security breaches in US history.

The pandemonium appears to have deepened the divide within the Republican Party, with several leaders pointing a finger at Trump for inciting violence by urging his supporters to reject the results of the presidential election.

So, what happened at the US Capitol?

The Capitol in Washington DC was placed under lockdown Wednesday after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the historic building and wreaked havoc in an attempt to stall the certification of the election results.

#BREAKING: Senators pause Electoral College debate amid Capitol Hill protests.

Aide to Sen. James Lankford: "Protesters are in the building." pic.twitter.com/GNOCrtpAuN

- The Hill (@thehill) January 6, 2021

A raucous group of demonstrators - many of whom were waving 'Trump 2020' flags and wearing T-shirts and hats with the president's signature 'Keep America Great' tagline printed - entered the second-floor lobby of the building right outside the Senate chamber, the doors of which were being guarded by law enforcement officials.

The mob managed to get past the guards and enter the Senate chamber, where just moments earlier the election results were being certified. According to the Guardian, one of the rioters was seen climbing up on the dias and yelling, "Trump won that election."

The protesters roamed through the halls freely, some even entering and looting the offices used by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers. But the lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives had already been evacuated.

Lawmaker says staff were able to remove electoral ballots before rioters breached the Senate floor https://t.co/qKgdzoao6W pic.twitter.com/hDIt7zjx2C

- CNN (@CNN) January 6, 2021

The Trump supporters stopped to take photographs and film themselves as they made their way around the building. Videos show people breaking windows and pushing past barricades to forcefully enter rooms and offices in the Capitol.

Four hours after the breach, officials announced that the demonstrators had been cleared out of the building and the Capitol was secure. Senators were escorted back into the Senate chamber to complete the certification of electoral college votes.

At least four people died in the attack, including one woman who was shot in the chest and killed inside the Capitol building, CNN reported. According to Washington DC police, another woman and two men died in separate medical emergencies.

But what were the incidents that led up to the siege?

Hours before the rioters stormed the US Capitol, huge crowds of Trump supporters had already filled the streets to protest against the certification of Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Many had even camped out overnight to catch a glimpse of President Trump and his top advisors and family members at the 'Save America Rally' that took place on Wednesday at the Ellipse, a park near the White House.

Trump spoke for around an hour, following which thousands began marching towards the Capitol.

Meanwhile, lawmakers had begun to gather for a joint session in the House of Representatives to count the electoral votes. But when some of the demonstrators began sparring with the police and climbing the walls around the Capitol building, officials ordered the evacuation of the Library of Congress, Madison Building and Cannon House Office Building.

CHAOS ON CAPITOL HILL: A massive crowd of protestors forced a lockdown as members of Congress inside debated over Republican challenges to Joe Biden's presidential victory. Some Trump supporters were chanting, "We took over the Capitol."
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/epwfQJCsDl pic.twitter.com/Ks9UccaI2z

- ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 6, 2021

Police attempted to retaliate with tear gas, but were heavily outnumbered and overwhelmed by the mob. After one demonstrator managed to break a window and another the main doors that led up to the House Chamber, the crowd began entering the building in huge numbers.

Police on Capitol Hill responded with drawn guns and teargas as hundreds of protesters stormed the building and sought to force Congress to undo President Trump's election defeat https://t.co/PnRtbCWuX4 pic.twitter.com/cKdUy8cvoh

- Reuters (@Reuters) January 6, 2021

Why is Trump being blamed for the violence?

Several lawmakers, including members of the Republican Party, have blamed Trump for the violence that broke out in and around the Capitol. At the rally held in Ellipse park, lawmakers and critics have pointed out, the president directed his followers to head to Capitol Hill.

"And after this, we're going to walk down there, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down...to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women," he said. "And we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."

He repeated his claims that the election had been "rigged" by "radical democrats" and the "fake news media", urging his supporters not to accept the results of the election. "We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved," he said.

The President faced backlash yet again when he shared a message on social media and appeared to justify the violent mob's actions while telling his supporters, "it's time to go home now". "I know your pain. I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us," he said in the video, which has since been removed. "It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side."

"But you have to go home now," he said. "We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don't want anybody hurt. It's a very tough period of time, there's never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home, we love you, you're very special. You've seen what happens, you've seen the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace."

What happened after the Capitol Hill attack?

Soon after law enforcement officials were able to clear the building of rioters, the lawmakers - shaken but undeterred - reconvened the joint session to count electoral votes from the presidential election and officially confirm Joe Biden's victory.

But the damage had already been done. Following the mayhem that ensued within the halls of the Capitol, more than a dozen house Democrats renewed calls for Trump's impeachment before inauguration day.

Impeach.

- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 7, 2021

The incident also laid bare the fissions within the Republican Party, as several conservative lawmakers, too, called for Trump's resignation. Among them is Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott, who demanded that Trump either resign himself or be removed from the White House by force.

The fabric of our democracy and the principles of our republic are under attack by the President.

Enough is enough.

President Trump should resign or be removed from office by his Cabinet, or by the Congress. 6/6

- Governor Phil Scott (@GovPhilScott) January 6, 2021

Most notably, at least two top White House officials have announced their resignation in the wake of the violent protests and several others are considering resigning, CNN reported. Stephanie Grisham was the first to formally resign as chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday.

"It has been an honor to serve the country in the White House. I am very proud to have been a part of Mrs. Trump's mission to help children everywhere, and proud of the many accomplishments of this administration," she said in a statement.

The White House social secretary, Rickie Niceta, also resigned, as did a deputy White House press secretary, Sarah Matthews, two sources told Reuters.

Several others, including national security adviser Robert O'Brien and his deputy, Matthew Pottinger may also soon resign, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

On Thursday, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser extended the public emergency in the country's capital for another 15 days.

I have issued Mayor's Order 2021-003, extending the public emergency declared earlier today for a total of 15 days, until and unless provided for by further Mayoral Order.

- Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 7, 2021

How have lawmakers reacted to the incident?

Lawmakers from both parties, many of whom were present in the Capitol on Wednesday, condemned the violent uprising, calling it "despicable" and "unacceptable" and called for peace.

"What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it's disorder," President-elect Joe Biden tweeted.

Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not represent who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it's disorder. It borders on sedition, and it must end. Now.

- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 6, 2021

Vice President Mike Pence, who recently defied President Trump's demand to unilaterally reject Electoral College votes that will make Joe Biden the next President, also took to social media to urge rioters to leave the Capitol building.

The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now. Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building.

- Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) January 6, 2021

I join President-elect @JoeBiden in calling for the assault on the Capitol and our nation's public servants to end, and as he said, "allow the work of democracy to go forward."

- Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 6, 2021

.@SenatorRomney calls #CapitolHill protests an "insurrection" and those who object to the results of the 2020 election will be seen as "complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy"

"They'll be remembered for their role in this shameful episode in American history" pic.twitter.com/56NAw3odGP

- Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 7, 2021

Violence and anarchy are unacceptable. We are a nation of laws.

This needs to end now. https://t.co/zyrFUFYZm1

- Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 6, 2021

JUST IN: In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately."

- NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) January 6, 2021

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US Capitol Hill siege, explained: What happened, who was involved and is Trump to blame?

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US Capitol Hill Siege: An armed and angry mob of Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill and clashed with police on Wednesday as Congress convened to validate Joe Biden's presidential win. What led to the siege, and why is Trump being blamed?

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Who were the protesters that broke into buildings on Capitol Hill after attending a rally in support of Donald Trump?

Some were carrying symbols and flags strongly associated with particular ideas and factions, but in practice many of the members and their causes overlap.

QAnon among the protesters

Images show individuals associated with a range of extreme and far-right groups and supporters of fringe online conspiracy theories, many of whom have long been active online and at pro-Trump rallies.

One of the most startling images, quickly shared across social media, shows a man dressed with a painted face, fur hat and horns, holding an American flag.

He's been identified as Jake Angeli, a well-known supporter of the baseless conspiracy theory QAnon. He calls himself the QAnon Shaman.

His social media presence shows him attending multiple QAnon events and posting YouTube videos about deep state conspiracies.

He was pictured in November making a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, about unproven claims the election was fraudulent.

His personal Facebook page is filled with images and memes relating to all sorts of extreme ideas and conspiracy theories.

The Proud Boys

Another group spotted at the storming of the Capitol were members of the far-right group Proud Boys.

The organisation was founded in 2016 and is anti-immigrant and all male. In the first US presidential debate President Trump in response to a question about white supremacists and militias said: "Proud Boys - stand back and stand by."

One of their members, Nick Ochs, tweeted a selfie inside the building saying "Hello from the Capital lol". He also filmed a live stream inside.

We haven't identified the individual standing on the left in the above image.

Mr Ochs' profile on the messaging app Telegram describes himself as a "Proud Boy Elder from Hawaii."

Online influencers

Individuals with large followings online were also spotted at the protests.

Among them was the social media personality Tim Gionet, who goes under the pseudonym "Baked Alaska".

His livestream from inside the Capitol posted on a niche streaming service was watched by thousands of people and showed him talking to other protesters.

A Trump supporter, Mr Gionet has made a name for himself as an internet troll.

YouTube banned his channel in October after he posted videos of himself harassing shop workers and refusing to wear a face-mask during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other platforms that have previously shut down his accounts include Twitter and PayPal.

A photo that went viral of a man who'd entered the office of senior Democrat politician Nancy Pelosi has been named as Richard Barnett from Arkansas.

Outside Capitol Hill buildings, he told the New York Times that he took an envelope from the speaker's office and says left a note calling her an expletive.

That's Richard "Bigo" Barnett, 60, from Gravette, Ak., showing off the personalized envelope he took from Speaker Pelosi's office. He insisted he didn't steal it - "I left a quarter on her desk." pic.twitter.com/aST7MCoRwP
- Matthew Rosenberg (@AllMattNYT) January 6, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Reacting to the New York Times interview, Republican congressman Steve Womack said on Twitter: "I'm sickened to learn that the below actions were perpetrated by a constituent."

Local media reports say Mr Barnett is involved in a group that supports gun rights, and that he was interviewed at a 'Stop the Steal' rally following the presidential election - a movement that refused to accept Joe Biden's victory and supports the president's unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

In the interview at the rally organised by 'Engaged Patriots' he said: "If you don't like it, send somebody out to get me 'cause I ain't going down easy."

The group associated with Mr Barnett held a fundraiser in October with proceeds going towards body cameras for the local police department, according to the Westside Eagle Observer local paper.

No evidence of antifa supporters

As the events were unfolding, many social media users, especially those associated with QAnon and supporters of President Trump, were claiming that agitators from the loose-knit left-wing group antifa were involved.

The implication was that these activists were disguised as Trump supporters to create disruption.

A number of prominent Republican politicians, such as US Representative Matt Gaetz, claimed it was antifa masquerading as Trump supporters.

One widely-shared post claimed one protester had a "communist hammer" tattoo, as evidence that he wasn't a Trump supporter.

On closer inspection, the symbol is from the video game series Dishonored.

There have also been suggestions that Mr Angeli, the man wearing fur and horns, was a Black Lives Matter supporter, with users sharing an image of him at a BLM event in Arizona.

Mr Angeli was indeed at that event, but he was there as a counter-protester. In images taken there, he's seen holding a QAnon sign.

Flags and symbols

At least one of the rioters was holding a Confederate flag, which represented US states that supported the continuation of slavery during the American civil war. For this reason, it is considered by many to be a symbol of racism and there have been calls to ban it across the US. Others see it as an important part of southern US history.

In July it was announced that the flag could no longer be flown on American military properties because of a new policy to reject "divisive symbols".

President Trump has defended the use of the Confederate flag in the past, saying: "I know people that like the Confederate flag and they're not thinking about slavery...I just think it's freedom of speech."

There were also protesters holding aloft flags featuring a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow background, often accompanied by the phrase "don't tread on me". This is known as the Gadsden flag, harking back to the American revolution and the war to expel British colonialists.

It was adopted by libertarians in the 1970s, according to an article in the New Yorker, and more recently became a favourite symbol of conservative Tea Party activists.

The flag has been adopted by the right over the past couple of decades, says Prof Margaret Weir, a political science expert at Brown University.

It is also used by anti-government, white supremacist groups who embrace violence, she says.

Reporting by Jack Goodman, Christopher Giles, Olga Robinson and Shayan Sardarizadeh.

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Capitol riots: Who broke into the building?

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Who were the protesters that broke into buildings on Capitol Hill after attending a rally in support of Donald Trump? Some were carrying symbols and flags strongly associated with particular ideas and factions, but in practice many of the members and their causes overlap.

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The Presidential Transition

Global leaders watched live as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, and many saw it as a warning to global democracies, placing the blame squarely on President Trump.

Supporters of President Trump storming the United States Capitol building in Washington on Wednesday. Credit... Roberto Schmidt/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

BERLIN - As an angry mob stormed the heart of the world's most powerful democracy, the rest of the world watched the once-unimaginable scenes unfolding in Washington with dismay and disbelief - and deep concern about what the turmoil could mean as authoritarian forces gain strength around the globe.

Many of those following live broadcasts of armed rioters forcing their way into the Capitol saw it as a stark and disturbing warning for all the world's democracies: If this can happen in the United States, it can happen anywhere.

"We currently witness an attack on the very fundaments of democratic structures and institutions," said Peter Beyer, the German government's coordinator for trans-Atlantic affairs. "This is not merely a U.S. national issue, but it shakes the world, at least all democracies."

One by one, officials around the globe responded with the sort of statements previously issued by the United States State Department when political violence consumed other countries.

"These pictures made me angry and sad," Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said on Thursday. "I deeply regret that since November, President Trump has not accepted that he lost, and did not do so again yesterday."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia condemned the violence, calling what unfolded inside Congress "very distressing,"while Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said she and others in her country were "devastated" by the events.

Image

"The right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob," she wrote on Twitter.

The secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, took the highly unusual step of weighing in on a domestic issue in a member state, writing, "The outcome of this democratic election must be respected."

Even some of Mr. Trump's most vocal admirers distanced themselves from the violence that unfolded. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the nationalist League party in Italy, wrote on Twitter, "Violence is never the solution, ever," while Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India called for an "orderly and peaceful transfer of power."

The attack on the Capitol - coming less than a day after the Hong Kong police arrested more than 50 democracy activists - was seen as a deep blow to America's global credibility, making it harder for the United States to hold to account authoritarian leaders around the world who trample on democratic values.

The world's authoritarian leaders "must be in euphoric and celebratory mood," wrote Yossi Melman, a writer for Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, mentioning President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In Cambodia, Sok Eysan, a senator and spokesman for the governing Cambodian People's Party,cited Mr. Trump's claim that the U.S. election was tainted when he asked, "If the U.S. has election fraud and corruption, which country is cleaner?"

Many laid the blame directly on the American president.

"This is what happens when you sow hatred," Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament and close ally of President Emmanuel Macron of France, wrote on Twitter. "Let us defend and protect our democracy, because it cannot be taken for granted."

Chancellor Merkel, who grew up in Communist East Germany and had welcomed President Trump into office in 2016 by reminding him of the principles of democracy, did not mince her words.

"He stoked uncertainties about the election outcome and that created an atmosphere that made the events of last night possible," she said.

Charles Santiago, an opposition lawmaker in Malaysia who is also the chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said that Mr. Trump had joined other world leaders "in subverting democracy and the will of the people." He cited Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.

"The U.S. has lost its moral authority to preach democracy and human rights to other countries," he said. "It has become part of the problem."

Marzia Rustami, a women's rights activist in Afghanistan, read the news about what was happening in the United States as Taliban fighters attacked a military base near her home in the northern city of Kunduz.

"In the United States, I see that the dialogue has given way to chaos," she said, describing how she heard explosions and gunfire in the distance as she followed the news online. "In my country, it has been like this for 40 years, and now the failure of the United States in this country has made the situation worse for us."

For many foreign leaders, the scenes in America were also reminders of recent political attacks on democracy at home.

Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, drew a parallel between the storming of the U.S. Capitol and the recent attempt by a far-right German mob to enter the Reichstag, the building that houses Germany's Parliament.

"Inflammatory words will lead to acts of violence - on the steps of the Reichstag, and now in the Capitol. The contempt for democratic institutions has a devastating effect," Mr. Maas wrote on Twitter. He added, "The enemies of democracy will be happy about these unbelievable pictures from Washington, D.C."

And they were.

In Russia, the violence fit neatly into the Kremlin's propaganda narrative of a crumbling American democracy. Russia's state-controlled news channel, Rossiya-24, broadcast the chaos in the Capitol on a split screen, one side showing happy Orthodox Christmas festivities in Russia, the other the violent mayhem in Washington. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela took to state televisionto lecture his ministers on the virtues of democracy, while Iran's official state media offered minute-by-minute updates highlighting Mr. Trump's role in instigating the violence by making false claims about election fraud.

In China, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, pointedly raised American expressions of support for the huge protests that took place in Hong Kong, which at one point included the takeover of the legislature in 2019. She noted a widely criticized statement at the time by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, who said the protests in Hong Kong were "a beautiful sight to behold."

"You may still remember that at the time, American officials, congressmen and some media - what phrases did they use for Hong Kong?" she said in Beijing on Thursday. "What phrases are they using for America now?"

One of the territory's beleaguered opposition activists was quick to distinguish the brief takeover in Hong Kong from the storming of Congress.

"Let me be clear, there is no way for anyone to justify what is happening in the States today with what happened in Hong Kong," Joey Siu wrote on Twitter. "Yes both went inside the legislative chamber but one with determination to sacrifice for defending democracy and one trying to damage it."

A feeling of schadenfreude surfaced in other parts of the world that had been on the receiving end of advice on good governance from Washington.

"As Africa we call for Americans to respect democracy, to respect rule of law and allow for a peaceful transition to power," Mmusi Maimane, South Africa's former leader of the opposition, wrote on Twitter. "Follow the example of great democratic states like South Africa which respect outcomes of elections."

Amid the expressions of alarm, there wereseveral hopeful voices insisting that this was a last convulsion of the Trump presidency rather than the beginning of the end of Western democracy - and that a Biden presidency would turn things around.

"I trust in the strength of America's democracy," tweeted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain. "The new Presidency of@JoeBiden will overcome this time of tension, uniting the American people."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada also struck an optimistic tone in a tweet. "Democracy in the U.S. must be upheld - and it will be," he wrote.

Others warned that thecrisis of democracy went beyond Mr. Trump and that America might take years to repair.

In Germany, where democracy once succumbed to Nazi rule following a volatile decade of marauding far-right militias and failed coups, the images of an armed mob attacking the U.S. seat of national power conjured uneasy echoes of history.

"After our catastrophic failure in the 20th century, we Germans were taught by the U.S. to develop strong democratic institutions," said Andreas Michaelis, the German ambassador to Britain. "We also learned that democracy is not just about institutions. It is about political culture, too."

Still, others found dark humor in the day's events.

The Lebanese-British comedian Karl Sharro drew a winking parallel between Mr. Trump's encouragement of the Capitol mob with the United States' history of helping to overthrow other countries' leaders."Trump basically imported the US's foreign policy to the US," he wrote on Twitter.

Felipe Neto, a popular Brazilian political commentator, took a shot at the United States.

"I'm waiting for the USA to invade the USA so they can 're-establish democracy,'" he wrote on Twitter.

Katrin Bennhold reported from Berlin, and Steven Lee Myers from Seoul. Reporting was contributed by Melissa Eddy and Christopher F. Schuetze from Berlin; Andrew Higgins and Anton Troianovski from Moscow; Natalie Kitroeff and Oscar Lopez from Mexico City; Aurelien Breeden from Paris; David M. Halbfinger, Isabel Kershner and Adam Rasgon from Jerusalem; Mark Landler, Megan Specia and Benjamin Mueller from London; Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro; Anatoly Kurmanaev from Caracas, Venezuela; Julie Turkewitz from Bogotá, Colombia; Vivian Yee from Tunis; Jason Horowitz from Rome; Catherine Porter from Toronto; Farnaz Fassihi from New York; Ruth Maclean from Dakar, Senegal; Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Steven Erlanger from Brussels; Austin Ramzy from Hong Kong; Emily Schmall from New Delhi; Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Najim Rahim from Kabul, Afghanistan; Damien Cave from Sydney, Australia; Hannah Beech and Richard C. Paddock from Bangkok; Sun Narin from Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Choe Sang-hun from Seoul; Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue from Tokyo; and Amy Chang Chien from Taipei, Taiwan.

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America's Friends and Foes Express Horror as Capitol Attack 'Shakes the World'

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The Presidential Transition Global leaders watched live as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, and many saw it as a warning to global democracies, placing the blame squarely on President Trump.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/capitol-riots-what-happened-washington-dc-timeline-b1783562.html

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nbc news

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Capitol descended into chaos and violence Wednesday as hundreds of pro-Trump rioters swarmed the building, leaving four people dead and forcing the Senate to evacuate and Vice President Mike Pence to be ushered to safety.

The frenzied scene after rioters broke through barricades forced Congress to evacuate parts of the building and abruptly pause a ceremonial event affirming that President-elect Joe Biden won the November election. In one dramatic moment, police officers drew guns as rioters tried to break into the House chamber.

Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress, could be seen rushing out of the Senate chamber amid the sounds of throngs of President Donald Trump's supporters who surrounded the Capitol. Pence and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate president pro tem, were taken to a secure location, a senator told NBC News.

A woman was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol Police and three other people died in "medical emergencies," Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said.

The doors of the Senate were closed and locked, and senators were told to stay away from the area. The doors to the House were barricaded, and some lawmakers were seen praying. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a 12-hour curfew in the city that began Wednesday evening.

Twitter and other social media channels were flooded with images of protesters skirmishing with police officers, and there were multiple reports of rioting inside the Capitol as some rioters broke windows, battered down doors and postured in the Senate chamber.

Improvised explosive devices were found on the Capitol grounds, several law enforcement officials said. Officers were in the process of destroying the devices, and it was not clear whether they were functional. At least one was made of a small section of galvanized pipe.

The woman who was fatally shot by Capitol Police was Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, family members told NBC San Diego.

Her brother-in-law, Justin Jackson, said in a statement to the station: "Ashli was both loyal as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in. She loved this country and felt honored to have served in our Armed Forces. Please keep her family in your thoughts and respect their privacy during this time."

Five weapons were recovered from the complex, and three arrests were made, D.C. police said. None of the people were residents of the District of Columbia. There were 12 arrests in the two days leading up to Wednesday.

Images from the clashes were rife with disturbing hate symbols: a photo of a noose that had been hung on the west side of the Capitol, protesters waving Confederate flags or using white power gestures.

Trump directed the National Guard to head to the Capitol, he said in a tweet, and U.S. Capitol Police requested additional support. The FBI was deployed, and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted, too.

As Bowser's 12-hour curfew went into effect, most of the protesters dispersed, but pro-Trump demonstrators were seen in videos on social media roaming the city's streets amid a heavy police presence.

Washington police announced several arrests related to the protests and about 50 curfew-violation arrests as of 10:30 p.m. The police department said that most of the arrestees were from out of state and that it was processing additional arrests.

Bowser said the city is working with federal law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute people who stormed the chambers of Congress.

All four living former presidents decried the rioting.

Former President George W. Bush condemned the violence in a statement and also indirectly criticized Trump and his supporters.

"It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic - not our democratic republic," he said. "I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement."

Bush said the passions of protesters were "inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes."

Former President Barack Obama excoriated Trump in a statement and denounced the violence, calling it "a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation."

"Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy. They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires," Obama said. "Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America."

Former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement, "This is a national tragedy and is not who we are as a nation," while Bill Clinton tweeted, "The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, confirming on Fox News that shots had been fired inside the Capitol, called the mayhem "un-American" and said: "We can disagree, but we should not take it to this level. ... You do not do what is happening right now. People are being hurt. This is unacceptable."

Biden called on Trump to go on national television to "fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege."

"It's not protest. It's insurrection," he said. "The words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad it is."

The top Democrats in Congress echoed Biden's message: "We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a joint statement.

Pelosi, in another statement Wednesday, called the violence "a shameful assault" on democracy and vowed that both chambers would finish certifying Biden's win under heightened protection.

Congress reconvened late Wednesday evening, with members of both parties sharply rebuking the violence and vandalism of the chamber. Pence called it "a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol."

"To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people's house," he said.

Former Attorney General William Barr, who was with Trump last summer as National Guard members sprayed tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters so the president could hold a Bible for a photo opportunity, admonished the rioters.

"The violence at the Capitol Building is outrageous and despicable. Federal agencies should move immediately to disperse it," he said.

Dan Eberhart, a prominent donor to Trump and the Republican Party, also sharply criticized the protests and the president.

"If President Trump wants to have any kind of political future within the Republican Party, he needs to condemn the violence at the Capitol and stop claiming the election was stolen," Eberhart told NBC News. "President Trump had his day in court. It's time to concede defeat and think about his political future."

He added, "The desecration of the Capitol is not going to be forgotten. He cost Sen. [Mitch] McConnell his leadership position, and now he's s------g all over the Capitol."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the violence in a series of tweets and called for arrests and prosecution.

"Let us swiftly bring justice to the criminals who engaged in this rioting," he said in the tweet.

McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate majority leader, rebuked the rioters - without noting the source of the violence - and called them "thugs."

"Criminal behavior will never dominate the United States," he said. He did not identify its source, nor did he call on his members to drop their objections to the count. "This institution is resilient. Our democratic republic is strong. The American people deserve nothing less."

Schumer, who is poised to succeed McConnell as majority leader, sharply criticized the protests but squarely placed the blame on Trump in a fiery speech before Biden's win was certified.

"Make no mistake. Make no mistake, my friends. Today's events did not happen spontaneously," he said. "This mob was, in good part, President Trump's doing - incited by his words, his lies. This violence, in good part, his responsibility, his everlasting shame."

Schumer also called for rioters to be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law - hopefully by this administration. If not, certainly by the next."

Trump, who earlier Wednesday called on his supporters to march to the Capitol and even suggested that he might join them before he ultimately returned to the White House, addressed the chaos and the unrest in a series of tweets that Twitter eventually flagged for spreading false election claims and posing "a risk of violence."

He asked people to go home but did not condemn the violence.

The chaos erupted after Trump spoke to a large crowd in front of the White House. He angrily vowed never to concede to Biden and baselessly asserted that the election results were fraudulent.

"We will never give up. We will never concede. You don't concede when there is theft involved," Trump told supporters, some of whom chanted "USA!" or waved anti-Biden banners. He later falsely claimed that Biden would be an "illegitimate" president.

In the White House after the violent clashes in and around the Capitol, chief of staff Mark Meadows, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among those meeting with the president, a person familiar with the matter said.

Some aides appear shaken by the events, which aired on televisions in the West Wing.

"There's been some hard days and some challenging days," a person familiar with meetings said. "I would say that this one's the toughest."

Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump's chief of staff and a former White House press secretary, submitted her resignation Wednesday.

Twitter also, for the first time, locked Trump's account after it flagged and removed several of his tweets for "repeated and severe violations" of the company's civic integrity policy. The company threatened permanent suspension if the tweets were not deleted. Facebook also blocked Trump's access to his account for 24 hours.

Trump had tweeted several messages, some of which were removed for "contributing to the risk of ongoing violence."

Trump's groundless claims of voter fraud have been widely debunked, and his legal team's efforts to challenge the election results in court have been rejected by a succession of judges. Trump had claimed that Wednesday's joint session of Congress was a chance to overturn the election, even though state electors had already certified the results and the event inside the Capitol was ceremonial.

Trump had put pressure on Pence to intervene in the count. In his lengthy and digressive remarks, Trump called on Pence to "do the right thing," even though Pence's ceremonial role did not give him with power to intervene. Pence sent a letter to Congress before the ceremony saying he would not be doing what Trump had hoped.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted that she was drawing up articles of impeachment against Trump.

"We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath," she tweeted.

Trump was impeached by the House in late 2019 and acquitted by the Senate in early 2020.

Jason Bjorklund, who flew to the capital from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said he did not know what to expect when Congress convened.

"I just felt compelled to be here, because it seems like our republic is slipping away from us," Bjorklund said. He added, baselessly, that there were "mountains of evidence of fraud" and detailed conspiracy theories about voting machines using software made by Dominion Voting Systems.

When asked to account for the judges who have rejected the Trump legal team's attempts to challenge the results, Bjorklund said: "I think we've got corruption from the top to the bottom."

Before Trump's speech, it appeared that some senators were being approached by Trump supporters near the Capitol, including an apparently exasperated Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who said he would not vote against affirming Biden's victory because he was bound to follow the law.

"I took an oath under God, under God!" Young said. "Do we still take that seriously in this country?"

Theresa Reilly and her husband, Bill, came to the nation's capital from Michigan - a key Midwest swing state that fell into the Democratic column in November - to participate in the protests because they believe Biden's triumph was fraudulent.

"We don't believe they're honest, true voters," Theresa Reilly said as Celine Dion's theme song from the movie "Titanic" played on a speaker system in the background. "There's a lot of cheating going on, and I think everybody knows that, including Democrats."

Bill Reilly said that even without "doing too much research," it was clear that "something's up" with the November election results

"The only thing I can say is, however many people are here, this isn't going to go away," he said. "If you thought 2020 was weird, 2021 is going to be 'hold my beer,' if you ask me."
Allan Smith, Ginger Gibson, Pete Williams, Shannon Pettypiece, Haley Talbot, Kristen Welker, Carol E. Lee, Hallie Jackson, Monica Alba and Peter Alexander reported from Washington; Daniel Arkin, Dartunorro Clark and Tom Winter from New York; and Lauren Egan from Georgia.

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4 dead, Congress evacuated, National Guard activated after pro-Trump rioters storm Capitol

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Capitol descended into chaos and violence Wednesday as hundreds of pro-Trump rioters swarmed the building, leaving four people dead and forcing the Senate to evacuate and Vice President Mike Pence to be ushered to safety.

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Pro-Trump protesters storm Capitol barricades

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Trump supporters clashed with police as they stormed barricades at the Capitol building in Washington DC following a rally on January 6. Credit: Tyler Leikam via Storyful

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What you need to know

Congress affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the Capitol yesterday.

Federal prosecutors are looking into everyone involved in the unrest, including the role President Trump played in inciting the crowd.

A growing number of Republican leaders and Cabinet officials told CNN they believe Trump should be removed from office before Jan. 20. Trump publicly acknowledged for the first time tonight that he will not serve a second term.

Our live coverage has ended for the night. For the latest, follow CNN Politics.

Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, resigned today in the wake of President Trump's role and response to mob breaching the US Capitol.

"I have chosen to resign today as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use," McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse for HHS, wrote in a letter dated today.

"It had been my plan to stay until the change in administration occurred, but my plans abruptly changed last evening when ... I saw the violent takeover of the Capitol building. I believe that this behavior was totally unacceptable and, in my own heart, I simply am not able to continue," McCance-Katz wrote.

President Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned today.

President Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has submitted her resignation, making her the second Cabinet member to resign over Trump's response to the mob breaching the US Capitol, according to an official.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned this afternoon after taking "time to absorb" the insurrection on Capitol Hill and the President's response to it.

"Today, there was a lot of soul-searching and discussion," a senior administration official said. "It was obviously the right thing to do."

Chao discussed the matter with her staff and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before deciding by around 11 a.m. that she would resign.

A source close to Vice President Mike Pence said inquiries about invoking the 25th Amendment have been coming into Pence advisers and those discussions have been under way.

But the source said it is "highly unlikely" that Pence would pursue that path at this point, given that the effort is expected to be unsuccessful. And an administration official tells CNN that Pence himself has not discussed invoking the 25th Amendment with any Cabinet officials.

However, three senior administration officials also tell CNN that two Cabinet secretaries have called fellow members of the Cabinet to take their "temperatures" about demanding a Cabinet meeting with the President to confront him about his behavior.

The two Cabinet secretaries discussed the possibility of demanding the President deliver a public address committing to a peaceful transfer of power, which Trump did Thursday evening.

Hanging over the meeting would be the possibility that a majority of the Cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment and strip Trump of his power as president.

Chiefs of staff of federal departments have also been calling each other to discuss the possibility.

Some of the secretaries are hesitant to agree to a meeting because of the risk an attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment would face, or that they would draw Trump's ire.

Some officials were also concerned about the optics of holding a cabinet meeting amid national discussions about the 25th Amendment. "Why take the risk?" one senior official said.

On Thursday night, Trump released a pre-recorded video that said he would not serve a second term. It's not known yet if that was enough assuage Cabinet members' concerns and took the discussions of the table.

A White House adviser in discussions with senior officials said Trump only recorded the video released this evening because his presidency is currently threatened by looming resignations and potential impeachment.

"I think that video was done only because almost all his senior staff was about to resign, and impeachment is imminent," the adviser said.

"That message and tone should have been relayed election night...not after people died," the adviser added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out President Trump for finally pledging an "orderly" transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, saying "it's about damn time."

"Had he done this earlier, lives would have been saved," Whitmer told CNN's Erin Burnett, a day after rioters stormed the US Capitol building. "Had they invested themselves in a peaceful transition and started working with the incoming administration, lives would have been saved."

What do we know: Rioters on Wednesday breached the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, ransacked the offices of Pelosi and other Capitol offices, and a laptop was stolen from the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.

"If he'd spent the energy that he has tried to use to sow doubt and violence and seeds of division toward addressing the pandemic, lives would have been saved," Whitmer added. "I'm glad he's come to that conclusion finally. However, we paid an incredible price as a nation for his inability to see the facts and understand them and accept them. This is where we are."

Senate Chaplain Barry Black is urging Congress and the nation to heal and unite after Wednesday's deadly riot at the US Capitol building.

Black prayed over Congress early Thursday morning to close the joint session following the formal affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

He told CNN's Anderson Cooper that people too often these days are running from the truth and instead "need to learn to illuminate with truth."

"The power of life and death is in your words, and you will reap its harvest," Black said Thursday on Anderson Cooper Full Circle, referencing Proverbs 18:21.

Black has served as Senate Chaplain since 2003.

Watch the full interview here.
Watch part of Senate Chaplain Barry Black's interview:

President Trump conceded publicly for the first time Thursday that he will not serve a second term, stopping short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden but acknowledging a transfer of power is now underway.

"A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20," Trump said in a pre-recorded video taped at the White House. "My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power."

Trump's recognition of his loss comes two months after the fact and amid growing calls for either his removal from office or a fresh impeachment. It also came as legal questions swirled about his culpability for inciting rioters who invaded the US Capitol a day earlier.

In the video, released more than 24 hours after Wednesday's riot, Trump made calls for "healing and reconciliation" and said the country must move forward.

But he also misstated his role in activating the National Guard to combat his supporters who stormed the Capitol, who only a day earlier he called "special."

Earlier Thursday, Trump issued a dark-of-night statement vowing an "orderly transition," which came about in part to stanch a wave of resignations from within the West Wing and the broader administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to reach out to Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to urge him to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to force President Trump's removal from office.

The Democrats issued a statement detailing their phone call attempt to Pence, whom they were unable to connect with.

Read their statement:

"This morning, we placed a call to Vice President Pence to urge him to invoke the 25th Amendment which would allow the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to remove the President for his incitement of insurrection and the danger he still poses. We have not yet heard back from the vice president.
The President's dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office. We look forward to hearing from the vice president as soon as possible and to receiving a positive answer as to whether he and the Cabinet will honor their oath to the Constitution and the American people."

CIA director Gina Haspel is not currently expected to resign from her post in response to President Trump's handling of Wednesday's violence at the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation, who told CNN there is no indication, at this time, that she intends to step down before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Haspel's relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months and CNN previously reported that she was on thin ice as the President has considered firing her during his final months in office. But the source told CNN that at this time, it is unlikely Haspel will resign, the source said.

While the situation involving Trump's Cabinet continues to evolve after the resignation of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the source told CNN that, for now, Haspel intends to stay in her role to help oversee the CIA's ongoing operations and a smooth transition process. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel's plans.

Some background: There have been calls for other Cabinet members to follow Chao's lead amid bipartisan criticism of Trump's response to the violence. But some of Trump's top national security officials have received calls within the last 24 hours urging them not to resign following his widely panned response to the mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.

The message: it is important they stay on for the continuity of government in the national security realm.

Haspel has kept a relatively low profile since the election. Sources have consistently said Haspel prefers to remain as CIA director until Inauguration Day and step down on her own terms when the new administration takes over.

As of Thursday, it appears Trump's Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is also unlikely to resign.

At this stage, it remains unclear if Ratcliffe has been involved in any discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment but a source familiar with the issue, told CNN Trump's intelligence chief is well aware that a growing list of Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Cabinet to take that step.

A Capitol Police officer is on life support Thursday night after a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol a day before, according to Capitol Police union chair Gus Papathanasiou.

CNN reported Thursday evening, citing three sources, that the officer had died. One of CNN's sources said that Capitol Police officers were gathered and told that the officer had passed away.

Papathanasiou told WUSA - a local Washington, DC, television news station- that the officer died. Later Thursday, the Capitol Police released a statement stating no officers had died as a result of Wednesday's riot.

Papathanasiou retracted his statement to WUSA and told CNN the officer was still on life support.

"He had a stroke. I think he's on life support. We've got some misinformation on that. He's on life support from what I'm hearing," Papathanasiou told CNN.

One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the officer is on life support.

What you need to know

Congress affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the Capitol yesterday.

Federal prosecutors are looking into everyone involved in the unrest, including the role President Trump played in inciting the crowd.

A growing number of Republican leaders and Cabinet officials told CNN they believe Trump should be removed from office before Jan. 20. Trump publicly acknowledged for the first time tonight that he will not serve a second term.

Our live coverage has ended for the night. For the latest, follow CNN Politics.

Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, resigned today in the wake of President Trump's role and response to mob breaching the US Capitol.

"I have chosen to resign today as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use," McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse for HHS, wrote in a letter dated today.

"It had been my plan to stay until the change in administration occurred, but my plans abruptly changed last evening when ... I saw the violent takeover of the Capitol building. I believe that this behavior was totally unacceptable and, in my own heart, I simply am not able to continue," McCance-Katz wrote.

President Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned today.

President Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has submitted her resignation, making her the second Cabinet member to resign over Trump's response to the mob breaching the US Capitol, according to an official.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned this afternoon after taking "time to absorb" the insurrection on Capitol Hill and the President's response to it.

"Today, there was a lot of soul-searching and discussion," a senior administration official said. "It was obviously the right thing to do."

Chao discussed the matter with her staff and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before deciding by around 11 a.m. that she would resign.

A source close to Vice President Mike Pence said inquiries about invoking the 25th Amendment have been coming into Pence advisers and those discussions have been under way.

But the source said it is "highly unlikely" that Pence would pursue that path at this point, given that the effort is expected to be unsuccessful. And an administration official tells CNN that Pence himself has not discussed invoking the 25th Amendment with any Cabinet officials.

However, three senior administration officials also tell CNN that two Cabinet secretaries have called fellow members of the Cabinet to take their "temperatures" about demanding a Cabinet meeting with the President to confront him about his behavior.

The two Cabinet secretaries discussed the possibility of demanding the President deliver a public address committing to a peaceful transfer of power, which Trump did Thursday evening.

Hanging over the meeting would be the possibility that a majority of the Cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment and strip Trump of his power as president.

Chiefs of staff of federal departments have also been calling each other to discuss the possibility.

Some of the secretaries are hesitant to agree to a meeting because of the risk an attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment would face, or that they would draw Trump's ire.

Some officials were also concerned about the optics of holding a cabinet meeting amid national discussions about the 25th Amendment. "Why take the risk?" one senior official said.

On Thursday night, Trump released a pre-recorded video that said he would not serve a second term. It's not known yet if that was enough assuage Cabinet members' concerns and took the discussions of the table.

A White House adviser in discussions with senior officials said Trump only recorded the video released this evening because his presidency is currently threatened by looming resignations and potential impeachment.

"I think that video was done only because almost all his senior staff was about to resign, and impeachment is imminent," the adviser said.

"That message and tone should have been relayed election night...not after people died," the adviser added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out President Trump for finally pledging an "orderly" transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, saying "it's about damn time."

"Had he done this earlier, lives would have been saved," Whitmer told CNN's Erin Burnett, a day after rioters stormed the US Capitol building. "Had they invested themselves in a peaceful transition and started working with the incoming administration, lives would have been saved."

What do we know: Rioters on Wednesday breached the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, ransacked the offices of Pelosi and other Capitol offices, and a laptop was stolen from the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.

"If he'd spent the energy that he has tried to use to sow doubt and violence and seeds of division toward addressing the pandemic, lives would have been saved," Whitmer added. "I'm glad he's come to that conclusion finally. However, we paid an incredible price as a nation for his inability to see the facts and understand them and accept them. This is where we are."

Senate Chaplain Barry Black is urging Congress and the nation to heal and unite after Wednesday's deadly riot at the US Capitol building.

Black prayed over Congress early Thursday morning to close the joint session following the formal affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

He told CNN's Anderson Cooper that people too often these days are running from the truth and instead "need to learn to illuminate with truth."

"The power of life and death is in your words, and you will reap its harvest," Black said Thursday on Anderson Cooper Full Circle, referencing Proverbs 18:21.

Black has served as Senate Chaplain since 2003.

Watch the full interview here.
Watch part of Senate Chaplain Barry Black's interview:

President Trump conceded publicly for the first time Thursday that he will not serve a second term, stopping short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden but acknowledging a transfer of power is now underway.

"A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20," Trump said in a pre-recorded video taped at the White House. "My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power."

Trump's recognition of his loss comes two months after the fact and amid growing calls for either his removal from office or a fresh impeachment. It also came as legal questions swirled about his culpability for inciting rioters who invaded the US Capitol a day earlier.

In the video, released more than 24 hours after Wednesday's riot, Trump made calls for "healing and reconciliation" and said the country must move forward.

But he also misstated his role in activating the National Guard to combat his supporters who stormed the Capitol, who only a day earlier he called "special."

Earlier Thursday, Trump issued a dark-of-night statement vowing an "orderly transition," which came about in part to stanch a wave of resignations from within the West Wing and the broader administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to reach out to Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to urge him to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to force President Trump's removal from office.

The Democrats issued a statement detailing their phone call attempt to Pence, whom they were unable to connect with.

Read their statement:

"This morning, we placed a call to Vice President Pence to urge him to invoke the 25th Amendment which would allow the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to remove the President for his incitement of insurrection and the danger he still poses. We have not yet heard back from the vice president.
The President's dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office. We look forward to hearing from the vice president as soon as possible and to receiving a positive answer as to whether he and the Cabinet will honor their oath to the Constitution and the American people."

CIA director Gina Haspel is not currently expected to resign from her post in response to President Trump's handling of Wednesday's violence at the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation, who told CNN there is no indication, at this time, that she intends to step down before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Haspel's relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months and CNN previously reported that she was on thin ice as the President has considered firing her during his final months in office. But the source told CNN that at this time, it is unlikely Haspel will resign, the source said.

While the situation involving Trump's Cabinet continues to evolve after the resignation of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the source told CNN that, for now, Haspel intends to stay in her role to help oversee the CIA's ongoing operations and a smooth transition process. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel's plans.

Some background: There have been calls for other Cabinet members to follow Chao's lead amid bipartisan criticism of Trump's response to the violence. But some of Trump's top national security officials have received calls within the last 24 hours urging them not to resign following his widely panned response to the mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.

The message: it is important they stay on for the continuity of government in the national security realm.

Haspel has kept a relatively low profile since the election. Sources have consistently said Haspel prefers to remain as CIA director until Inauguration Day and step down on her own terms when the new administration takes over.

As of Thursday, it appears Trump's Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is also unlikely to resign.

At this stage, it remains unclear if Ratcliffe has been involved in any discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment but a source familiar with the issue, told CNN Trump's intelligence chief is well aware that a growing list of Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Cabinet to take that step.

A Capitol Police officer is on life support Thursday night after a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol a day before, according to Capitol Police union chair Gus Papathanasiou.

CNN reported Thursday evening, citing three sources, that the officer had died. One of CNN's sources said that Capitol Police officers were gathered and told that the officer had passed away.

Papathanasiou told WUSA - a local Washington, DC, television news station- that the officer died. Later Thursday, the Capitol Police released a statement stating no officers had died as a result of Wednesday's riot.

Papathanasiou retracted his statement to WUSA and told CNN the officer was still on life support.

"He had a stroke. I think he's on life support. We've got some misinformation on that. He's on life support from what I'm hearing," Papathanasiou told CNN.

One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the officer is on life support.

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By Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

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What you need to know Congress affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the Capitol yesterday. Federal prosecutors are looking into everyone involved in the unrest, including the role President Trump played in inciting the crowd.