The US Congress reconvenes after lawmakers were evacuated when protesters stormed the US Capitol and disrupted a joint session to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. In Washington, DC, on Jan 6, 2021. (DREW ANGERER / POOL / AFP)
WASHINGTON - Outgoing US President Donald Trump pledged an "orderly transition" on Thursday after Congress formally certified Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory, hours after hundreds of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy.
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on Jan 20 when Biden will be sworn into office
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on Jan 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.
The destructive and shocking images at the Capitol of what other Republicans called an “insurrection” filled television screens in America and around the world, a deep stain on Trump’s presidency and legacy as his tenure nears its end.
In certifying Biden’s win, longtime Trump allies such as Vice-President Mike Pence and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell ignored his pleas for intervention, while the violence at the Capitol spurred several White House aides to quit.
ALSO READ: Capitol violence: Top China adviser 'among White House resignations'
A source familiar with the situation said there have been discussions among some Cabinet members and Trump allies about invoking the 25th Amendment, which would allow a majority of the Cabinet to declare Trump unable to perform his duties, making Pence the acting president. A second source familiar with the effort doubted it would go anywhere given Trump has less than two weeks left in office.
Congress had resumed its work certifying Biden’s Electoral College win late on Wednesday after the chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill, with debate stretching into the early hours of Thursday.
After debate the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected two objections to the tally and certified the final Electoral College vote with Biden receiving 306 votes and Trump 232 votes.
Pence, in declaring the final vote totals behind Biden’s victory, said this “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice president of the United States”.
Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will take office alongside Biden on Jan 20.
The outcome had never been in doubt, but had been interrupted by rioters – spurred on by Trump – who forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol.
Police said four people died during the chaos and 52 people were arrested
One woman died after being shot during the mayhem, Washington police said, although the circumstances were unclear. Three people died due to medical emergencies, said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee.
The FBI said earlier it had disarmed two suspected explosive devices.
Rioters forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol, where they roamed the hallways and scuffled with police officers.
Four people died and 52 people have been arrested, police said. The FBI said it had disarmed two suspected explosive devices
Some besieged the House of Representatives chamber while lawmakers were inside, banging on its doors. Security officers piled furniture against the chamber’s door and drew their pistols before helping lawmakers escape.
Police evacuated lawmakers and struggled for more than three hours to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters, who surged through the halls and rummaged through offices in shocking scenes of chaos and mayhem.
Hours later, both houses of Congress resumed their work on certifying Biden’s Electoral College win, with debate stretching into the early hours of Thursday. It quickly became clear that objections from pro-Trump Republican lawmakers to Biden’s victory in battleground states would be rejected overwhelmingly, including by most Republicans.
The assault on the Capitol was the culmination of months of divisive and escalating rhetoric around the Nov 3 election, with Trump repeatedly making false claims that the vote was rigged and urging his supporters to help him overturn his loss.
ALSO READ: World stunned by Trump supporters storming US Capitol
The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of supporters near the White House and told them to march on the Capitol to express their anger at the voting process.
He told his supporters to pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them “to fight”.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump gather outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan 6, 2021. (JOHN MINCHILLO / AP)
Trump came under intensive fire from some prominent Republicans in Congress, who put the blame for the day’s violence squarely on his shoulders.
“There is no question that the President formed the mob, the President incited the mob, the President addressed the mob. He lit the flame,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney said on Twitter.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a leading conservative from Arkansas, called on Trump to accept his election loss and “quit misleading the American people and repudiate mob violence.”
The Senate rejected by a 93-6 vote Republican objections to the certification of Biden’s victory in Arizona, ensuring their defeat. The House of Representatives also rejected the move by a 303-121 vote
Both houses of Congress resumed their debate on the certification of Biden’s Electoral College win on Wednesday evening.
It quickly became clear that objections from pro-Trump lawmakers to Biden’s victory in battleground states would be rejected overwhelmingly, including by most Republicans, and that the election results would be certified.
“To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today - you did not win,” Vice-President Mike Pence said as the session resumed. “Let’s get back to work,” he said, drawing applause.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the invasion a “failed insurrection” and promised that “we will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation”.
“We are back in our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution, and for our nation. And we are going to do it tonight,” he said.
Some supporters of US President Donald Trump stand on top of a police vehicle as others gather outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan 6, 2021. (JULIO CORTEZ / AP)
'Reckless behavior'
The shock of the assault on the Capitol seemed to soften the resolve of some Republicans who had supported Trump’s efforts to convince Americans of his baseless claims of fraud.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, rejected an effort by his fellow Republicans to object to election results in hopes of setting up a commission to investigate Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
“All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,” Graham said on the floor of the Senate. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and the vice-president of the United States on Jan 20.”
The Senate rejected by a 93-6 vote Republican objections to the certification of Biden’s victory in the battleground state of Arizona, ensuring their defeat. The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, also rejected the move by a 303-121 vote.
The Senate also rejected an objection to the certification in Pennsylvania on a 92-7 vote. A majority of the House also rejected the objection.
Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, who lost her re-election bid in one of two Georgia runoffs on Tuesday that secured Democratic control of the Senate, said she had planned to object to Biden’s certification but had changed her mind after the events of the afternoon.
It was the most damaging attack on the US Capitol since the British army burned it in 1814, according to the US Capitol Historical Society
“I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors,” she said.
READ MORE: Georgia hands US Senate to Democrats with projected wins
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew starting at 6 pm (2300 GMT). National Guard troops, FBI agents and US Secret Service were deployed to help overwhelmed Capitol police, and Guard troops and police pushed protesters away from the Capitol after the curfew took effect.
“This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic — not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election,” former President George W. Bush, a Republican, said in a statement, without mentioning Trump by name.
It was the most damaging attack on the iconic building since the British army burned it in 1814, according to the US Capitol Historical Society.
Biden, a Democrat who defeated the Republican president in the November election and is due to take office on Jan 20, said the activity of the protesters “borders on sedition.”
The former vice-president said that for demonstrators to storm the Capitol, smash windows, occupy offices, invade Congress and threaten the safety of duly elected officials: “It’s not a protest, it’s insurrection.”
Police deployed tear gas inside the Capitol to disperse the rioters. Lawmakers in the House chamber were told to take gas masks from beneath their seats and ordered them to drop to the floor for their safety.
Several hundred House members, staff and press were later evacuated to an undisclosed location.
US lawmakers evacuate the House Chamber as protesters try to break into the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan 6, 2021. (J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP)
Twitter, Facebook freeze Trump accounts
In a video posted to Twitter, Trump repeated his false claims about election fraud but urged the protesters to leave.
“You have to go home now, we have to have peace,” he said, adding: “We love you. You’re very special.”
Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc later temporarily locked Trump's accounts, as tech giants scrambled to crack down on his baseless claims about the US presidential elections amid riots in the capital.
Twitter hid and required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets “as a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C.”.
Facebook tweeted it would block Trump’s page from posting for 24 hours, while Twitter locked Trump’s account for 12 hours and said that if the tweets are not removed, the account would remain locked
Facebook later tweeted it would block Trump’s page from posting for 24 hours due to two policy violations.
Twitter locked Trump’s account for 12 hours and said that if the tweets are not removed, the account would remain locked, meaning the president would be unable to tweet from @realDonaldTrump.
Facebook and YouTube, owned by Alphabet’s Google, also removed a video in which Trump continued to allege the presidential election was fraudulent even as he urged protesters to go home.
The video was removed from Instagram and the president’s account there would also be locked for 24 hours, Adam Mosseri, chief of Facebook-owned Instagram, said in a tweet.
YouTube did not take any further immediate action against his account.
The president and his allies have continuously spread unsubstantiated claims of election fraud that have proliferated online. Trump on Wednesday blamed Pence for lacking “courage” to pursue those claims in a tweet that Twitter later took down.
READ MORE: Georgia runoffs: US Democrats 'win one', leading in second
Facebook’s vice-president of integrity Guy Rosen tweeted the social media company believed the president’s video “contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence,” saying the action was part of “appropriate emergency measures.”
YouTube said Trump’s video violated its policy against content that alleges “widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Election.”
Weeks have passed since the states completed certifying that Biden won in the Electoral College, which decides presidential elections, by a 306-232 vote. Trump’s extraordinary challenges to Biden’s victory have been rejected by courts across the country.
Trump had pressed Pence to throw out election results in states the president narrowly lost, although Pence has no authority to do so. Pence said in a statement he could not accept or reject electoral votes unilaterally.
The mayhem stunned world leaders. Business groups, normally staunch allies of Republicans in Washington, also reacted strongly.
