By Spy Uganda Correspondent
USA: President Donald Trump allegedly incited his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday where they ransacked the temple of American democracy in a violent crescendo to Trump’s coup failed attempt that led to the deaths of four people, authorities said.
READ ALSO: US Congress Set To Certify Joe Biden’s Victory As Trump Vows To Address ‘Save America’ Rally
The mob at one point occupied the floor of the Senate and threatened to break into the House chamber, held back by a barricaded door and guards with pistols drawn.
Around 1pm, during a speech outside the White House, Trump called on his supporters to head to the Capitol and protest the certification. They followed his command, posting on Gab and Parler “directions on which streets to take to avoid the police and which tools to bring to help pry open doors”.
Meanwhile, a group of thousands on the western expose of the Capitol crashed through metal barriers and stormed up the steps where they quickly overwhelmed Capitol Police. Law enforcement deployed a minimally visible presence to avoid inflaming tensions but It didn’t work: The mob surged inside, then fanned out throughout the building.
Capitol Police said an officer shot and killed one rioter, who was seen on video with a group trying to break into the House chamber. Three other people died of unspecified “medical emergencies,” authorities said. Fourteen officers of the D.C. police sustained injuries.
The certification vote was halted, and senators were rushed to an undisclosed location for their protection, reminiscent of the chaos on 9/11. A quick-thinking staffer snatched the box holding the Electoral College certificates. Pence, who presided over the session, was also swept to an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, in the House, representatives sheltered inside their chamber. The lawmakers were told to put on gas masks and hide under their seats if necessary.
Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, said he had been perched in the House gallery when invaders broke in and put on a gas mask there before retreating to his office, where he had a “baseball bat at the ready if the sons of bitches come in.” Before leaving, he shouted down to Republicans on the floor, “Somebody call Trump and tell him to call his revolutionary guards off.” Cohen said.
By 5 p.m., local and federal law enforcement reinforced the overwhelmed Capitol Police and began to slowly retake the grounds.
By midnight, the toll of arrests reached into the dozens: some for weapons violations, many more for breaking the 6 p.m. curfew. Suspected bombs were found at the respective headquarters of the Republican and Democratic parties.
The chaos on Capitol Hill extended to the White House. Pence approved the order to deploy the D.C. National Guard and it’s unclear why Trump, the commander-in-chief, did not.
Trump was unheard from during the first hour of the attack, then he issued a pair of limp tweets in which he called on the mob to go home — but after he said he loved them and repeated his false accusation that the election had been stolen.
Twitter subsequently removed two tweets that said as much, locked his account for 12 hours, and threatened to ban him if he continues spouting misinformation. By nightfall, murmurs began of impeaching Trump again or using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office before his term ends on January 20.
Biden called it a dark moment in American history. “At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” he said. “The scenes of chaos at the capitol do not reflect the true America, do not represent who we are. What we’re seeing is a small number of extremists, dedicated to lawlessness. It’s not dissent, it’s disorder, it’s chaos. It borders on sedition and it must end — now.”
