Summary
- On 6 January 2021, Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill, protesting against the election results.
- The protests soon turned ugly and violent as a woman protester, who was reportedly shot, succumbed to death.
- Authorities had to use tear gas on the protesters, and the Congress Members were sent to safe locations.
Shocking after-effects of the US presidential election seem far from coming to an end. Amid the prolonged tense situation where the incumbent President Trump has been refusing to accept the election results, the course of events took an ugly turn on Wednesday, 6 January 2021, when a group of so-called Trump supporters attacked Capitol Hill.
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Violating all the laws, the protesters barged into Capitol Hill. They were roaming around through the complex, shoving past the police. The scene was terrifying and chaotic, and something of this sort has never been seen in the past. However, hours after the shocking invasion to prevent Biden's confirmation as the next President, the Capitol was finally secured.
Also read: Trump comes closest to compromise; says will leave White House if Biden gets electors' nod
Chaos at the Capitol
Shocking scenes of violence and chaos were at display in Capitol Hill after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the place. Some also barged into the Senate chamber and one of the protesters stood on the President of Senate's chair in an unbelievable sight, shouting in Trump's support. As the scenes of turmoil played out at the complex, a lockdown was put in place.
Vice President Mike Pence had also to be rescued out of the Senate. Other presidential successions, including Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and D-Calif, were all escorted to safe places.
Reportedly, a woman protester, who was shot inside the premises, has died. Explosive devices were also found during the attack including one improvised explosive device and a pipe-bomb sort of device. The authorities resorted to use tear gas and flash-bang grenades on the rioters, while Congress Members were wearing plastic breathing devices to protect themselves from the tear gas.
The After-Effects of the Violent Protest
In a strong reaction against the entire episode, Biden tweeted that the chaos at the Capitol Hill did not represent America.
He urged Trump to make a public appeal to the rioters to leave the premises. Trump also responded to his appeal and tweeted a video requesting the protesters to leave while still claiming that the election results were false and stolen.
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Former President George W. Bush also released a statement, condemning the entire incident. Moreover, former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card labelled the President as a 'mob leader.'
After an extremely unprecedented 2020 full of pandemic challenges, economic turbulence, high unemployment, and riots, this doesn’t seem a great start to 2021 for the world’s largest economy. However, amid all the chaos, President-elect Biden is all set to become the next US President on 20 January 2021.