Insurrectionists aiming to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election sent Washington, DC, into chaos on Wednesday, stormed past police barricades into the Capitol building and shutting down a congressional session intended to formally certify Joe Biden’s victory. Inside the House of Representatives chamber, a protester screamed, “Trump won that election!” from the dais.
Lawmakers who were stranded in their offices tweeted through the mayhem. “I am sheltering in place in my office,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) tweeted. “I can’t believe I have to write this.” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) said reports of “a pipe bomb” outside compelled her to evacuate.
Earlier, as his supporters marched on Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump gave a speech outside the White House urging Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election result. Pence, who is tasked with overseeing the joint session of Congress that formally approves the Electoral College vote, said in a letter Wednesday that his role is “largely ceremonial” and that he lacks the authority to unilaterally change the outcome of the presidential election.
Trump, who spent Wednesday inciting protesters and tweeting against his own vice president.