Members of Congress continued working late into the night to finish counting the votes after being halted by a violent mob of Trump supporters
EDITOR’S NOTE: Posted on Jan. 07, 2021 12:47 PM ET. This is an evolving story with more information to come.
Despite being halted by a mob of hundreds of pro-Trump protesters on Jan. 6, congress has affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, after working late into the night.
On the morning of Jan. 7 the streets of Washington D.C. were quiet, in stark contrast to the day before, when protesters stormed Capitol Hill early Wednesday afternoon, pushing past police and flooding into the building. Over a tense few hours, both law enforcement and the D.C. National Guard cleared rioters from the Capitol.
Though they succeeded in removing the rioters, the day was not without violence.
The Washington Post reported that four people died during the siege, including Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer on Capitol grounds. The other three deaths occurred after medical emergencies, but details around the circumstances of each have not been released yet.
At least 69 people have been arrested at the time of writing. Four of those arrests were for carrying pistols without a license, one for a prohibited weapon, and the others for curfew violations and unlawful entry, according to the Washington Post.
After deeming the election to be fraudulent and encouraging his followers to “remember this day,” Twitter required President Trump to remove three tweets from his profile, and temporarily locked his account for at least 12 hours, according to CNN. Twitter stated that the lock was a result of Trump repeatedly and severely violating their rules, specifically their Civic Integrity Policy.
They added that if he continues to violate their rules in the future, his account will be permanently suspended.
After Facebook initially banned Trump from using his Facebook and Instagram accounts for 24 hours, Mark Zuckerberg took to social media on Thursday to announce that Trump has been banned from using his accounts “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
Trump has since pledged for an “orderly” transfer of power. Using deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino’s Twitter account, he stated that there would be an orderly transition on Jan. 20, even though he “totally” disagrees with the outcome of the election, adding that it “represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history.”
This statement was issued after a series of resignations from within the West Wing and the broader administration, CNN reported. So far the list of resignations include the first lady’s chief of staff, the White House social secretary, a deputy press secretary and Trump’s deputy national security advisor.
CNN reported that other officials are considering resignation as well, and a growing number of Republican leaders and Cabinet members are considering removing Trump from the office by impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment.
In response to Wednesday’s events, Prime Minister Trudeau said Thursday that Canadians are “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the violent scenes that unfolded, and that democracy “must be upheld.”
As things have calmed down and the D.C. curfew has been lifted, the FBI is now seeking help in identifying the rioters who instigated violence and vandalized the U.S. Capitol. They are accepting tips and pictures, as well as video and other media forms to determine who has broken federal laws.
This is an evolving story with more information to come.
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