At least 50 police officers were injured in the Capitol riot, which also killed four after supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the building to prevent the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory.
One woman was shot dead by a police officer while another woman and two men died of “medical emergencies,” police said. Authorities later identified the woman who was shot as Ashli Babbitt, who was described in media reports as a pro-Trump, 35-year-old California native, and an Air Force veteran.
“When protesters forced their way to the House of Representatives Chamber, where members of Congress were seeking refuge, a sworn USCP official fired his service weapon and hit a grown woman,” said Steven Sund, police chief of the US Capitol, in a statement on Thursday. “Medical assistance was immediately provided and the woman was taken to the hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.”
The officer was put on administrative leave pending investigation based on Capitol Police guidelines, he said.
Robert Contee, chief of the city police, said investigators were trying to establish details of the other three deaths.
“This is a tragic incident and I would like to express my condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” said Contee.
Sund said more than 50 officers from his squad and DC police were injured, and several were hospitalized.
More than an hour after the riots began on Wednesday, Trump urged his supporters to remain peaceful, claiming that “WE are the party for law and order”. He later showed sympathy for the rioters.
Police had responded to violent incidents across the Capitol complex, including two reports of pipe bombs classified as dangerous and harmful, Sund said. The devices were deactivated and handed over to the FBI.
When rioters tried to force their way into the chamber of the house, a Capitol cop fired her gun and hit Babbitt, Sund said. She was taken to a hospital where she died, he said.
The officer who shot her has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation, according to the department’s guidelines, the chief said.
“The violent attack on the US Capitol was unlike any I have seen in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, DC,” said Sund. “The USCP had a solid plan in place to address the anticipated First Amendment activity. Make no mistake about it – this mass riot was not First Amendment activity; it was criminal riot.”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a curfew from 6 p.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Thursday. The mayor also announced an extension of a “public emergency” for the next 15 days, which would be inaugurated on January 20.
“If you want to cause trouble on the streets of Washington DC, you will be arrested,” Bowser said.
“To our fellow Americans, I know that I am speaking for all of us when I say that we have seen an unprecedented attack on our American democracy, instigated by our President of the United States, and it must be held accountable,” she said.
“His constant and divisive rhetoric led to the heinous acts we saw today, and unfortunately it resulted in a loss of life that will forever tarnish what could have been and what should have been a peaceful transfer of power,” she said .
“Again he must be held accountable.”
The crowd of Trump supporters boarded the Capitol shortly after the trial began to count the votes of the electoral college and confirm Biden’s victory over Trump. Biden got 306 votes, 36 more than he needed, while Trump got 232.
In the run-up to the joint congressional session, Trump gave many of these supporters a fiery uproar at a rally on the White House ellipse, less than two miles from the Capitol. Trump falsely claimed in that speech, as he has repeatedly done since the November 3 elections, that the race had been stolen from him for widespread fraud.
Trump highlighted Vice President Mike Pence, who led the event in Congress, and called on him to reject key election votes in order to overturn the election.
Pence, who had no legal authority to do so, denied Trump’s demands, saying he would perform his mostly ceremonial duties in accordance with law and the constitution.
Dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate had vowed prior to the event to object to the major battlefield nation’s electoral rolls that Biden had won. Objections to Arizona’s votes were raised shortly after the session began at 1:00 p.m. ET, delaying the process as the House and Senate split up to debate and vote on the challenge.
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
But the debates quickly stalled when thousands of Trump supporters gathered outside broke the ranks of police officers and infiltrated the Capitol.
Lockdowns and evacuations were in place as the chaos set in. Rioters broke windows and destroyed property as they streamed into the building. They walked freely through the convention halls, entered the legislature offices, occupied the Senate Chamber, and climbed walls and fittings.
Lawmakers evacuated the Chambers of the House and Senate and did not return until about six hours later. Some of the Republicans who had vowed to object to votes abandoned those plans in the face of the violent unrest.
Congress continued counting the votes and ended around 3:40 a.m. on Thursday.
With the siege of the Capitol underway, Trump took to Twitter to initially attack Pence for refusing to reject an election. Shortly thereafter, he followed suit with tweets urging his supporters to “please support our Capitol police and law enforcement agencies”.
Later that afternoon, he urged his followers to “go home now” while showing sympathy and falsely reiterating that the election had been stolen. These tweets were removed from Twitter, which temporarily suspended his account.
