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US riots as it happened: Capitol Building now 'secure' as Trump supporters riot in Washington; one woman shot, killed

Megan Levy, Roy Ward, Simone Fox Koob and Kate Rose
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • President Donald Trump has vowed an orderly transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden at his inauguration on January 20.  
  • House and Senate members have certified Biden's Electoral College victory at a joint session, after rejecting objections to counts in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
  • A woman has died after being shot in the Capitol building during the riot, and local police said three other people have died following "medical emergencies". 
  • The Democrats have been called the winners in both Georgia Senate seats following run-offs yesterday. Jon Ossoff has been called the winner of his contest with David Perdue while Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated Republican Kelly Loeffler earlier.
  • There were 52 arrests, including for carrying weapons and breaking the 6pm curfew. Mayor Muriel Bowser has extended the 6pm-6am curfew for 15 days, ending the day after Biden's inauguration. 

What a day: Here's what happened

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What a day.

It started with chaos, and has ended with President Donald Trump promising an orderly transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, although Trump stopped short of actually conceding.

US Vice-President Mike Pence and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lead the joint sitting of Congress. Joe Biden's election win was finally certified at 3.33am local time.The New York Times

The House and Senate certified the Democrat’s electoral college win early Thursday local time after a violent throng of pro-Trump rioters spent hours Wednesday running rampant through the Capitol. A woman was fatally shot, windows were bashed and the mob forced shaken lawmakers and aides to flee the building, shielded by Capitol Police.

Biden called for an end to the "assault on the citadel of liberty", and former presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were quick to decry the unfolding crisis.

Cruz stands by count objection

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Republican Senator Ted Cruz is defending his objection to the Electoral College results as “the right thing to do.”

The Texas senator condemned the violence that erupted as supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an extraordinary attack over the election outcome.

Cruz led the first challenge to Joe Biden’s defeat of President Donald Trump by objecting to Arizona’s results. He sought to have Congress launch a commission to investigate the election. His effort was roundly defeated in the House and Senate.

Cruz said he was confident the country will have a “peaceful and orderly transition of power.” Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20.

AP

Trump promises orderly transition

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A statement has just been released from President Donald Trump promising an "orderly transition" of power to President-elect Joe Biden after Congress certified the Electoral College results of the 2020 election.

"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in the statement, repeating the false claims he has been making about electoral irregularities.

"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again."

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The statement was tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. Twitter suspended Trump's account for 12 hours after the President violated its terms of service.

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Congress affirms Biden's Electoral College victory

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Congress has just affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump.

The Senate and House rejected objections to throw out Georgia and Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Biden.

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Republicans also objected to Arizona, Nevada and Michigan's electoral votes, but the motions failed before they reached debate.

The certification comes after Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol earlier Wednesday.

The joint session of Congress, which is normally a ceremonial step, was halted for several hours when rioters breached the Capitol.

Proceedings resumed at about 8 p.m. ET with Vice President Mike Pence, bringing the Senate session back into order.

House rejects Pennsylvania objection

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The House has joined the Senate in turning aside Republican objections to Pennsylvania’s electoral vote for President-elect Joe Biden.

Lawmakers in the House voted 282-138 against the objection as the counting of Electoral College votes continued into the early hours of Thursday morning. The Senate shut down the same objection 92-7 just after midnight, and unlike the House, declined to debate before voting.

After a long day dominated by pro-Trump rioters’ deadly storming of the Capitol, it was the second state for which a group of Republicans tried and failed to reverse the will of voters. Some GOP lawmakers have backed President Donald Trump’s bogus claims that the election was fraudulent.

Those objecting to Pennsylvania’s votes included 80 House Republicans and Missouri GOP Senator Josh Hawley, who is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender.

AP

Shirtfronting in House as vote count stretched on

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A small group of House lawmakers came close to physically fighting early Thursday morning local time as the congressional count of electoral votes stretched into the wee hours and a Pennsylvania Democrat charged that Republicans had been telling “lies” about his state’s votes.

Republican Morgan Griffiths objected after Democrat Congressman Conor Lamb said a breach of the Capitol by an angry mob earlier in the day was “inspired by lies, the same lies you are hearing in this room tonight.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down the objection, but a few minutes later Republicans and Democrats streamed to the middle aisle, with around a dozen lawmakers getting close to each other and arguing. But the group quickly broke up when Pelosi called for order on the floor.

President Donald Trump has falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in Pennsylvania and other states and Republicans have echoed those claims as they have challenged electoral votes.

AP

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The Capitol riots in images

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The word "unprecedented" may be overused, but there is none other that quite covers what we've been following in Washington today.

Here are some of the most gripping images of the day, and our gallery.

Demonstrators attempt to breach the US Capitol after they earlier stormed the building Bloomberg
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building.Reuters
A flashbang grenade explodes as law enforcement officers push back demonstrators at the US Capitol building.Bloomberg
Supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by US Capitol Police officers. AP

Senate kills Republican objections to Pennsylvania vote

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The Senate has quickly killed Republican objections to Pennsylvania’s electoral vote for President-elect Joe Biden.

Senators voted 92-7 after midnight to derail the GOP attempt to overturn Pennsylvania’s support for the Democrat.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there would be no more objections to the election of Joe Biden. Bloomberg

In a long day dominated by pro-Trump rioters’ deadly storming of the Capitol, it’s the second state for which a group of Republicans tried and failed to reverse the will of voters. Some GOP lawmakers have backed President Donald Trump’s bogus claims that the election was fraudulent.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he believes no other states’ votes will be challenged. That means Congress’ formal certification of Biden’s victory could finish quickly once the House votes on the Pennsylvania challenge.

Dead woman identified as US Air Force veteran

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The woman who was shot and killed during rioting in the Capitol has been identified as 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt, a California native and US Air Force veteran, by her former husband, The Washington Post reports.

“I feel absolutely terrible and sick to my stomach about it … she had a big head and a strong mind,” Timothy McEntee wrote in a text message to the masthead. “She was never afraid to speak her mind and in a way this was her way of speaking her mind (going to the rally).”

Babbitt was one of four people who died at the Capitol, with local police attributing the other three deaths to "medical emergencies".

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'Threat to democracy': World leaders appalled by storming of US Capitol

By Anthony Galloway

Leaders around the world condemned the storming of the United States Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, expressing shock at the chaos unfolding in a country they once relied upon for global leadership.

But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stopped short of criticising Mr Trump for inciting the violence, saying "it is not for me to offer commentary on world leaders".

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Mr Morrison said the storming of US Congress was "disgraceful", "heartbreaking" and "terribly distressing, terribly concerning".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the scenes in Washington were "disgraceful".

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