A pro-Trump mob broke through security barriers and stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress began to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory in the 2020 election on Wednesday afternoon. The rioters prompted a lockdown of the Capitol and an evacuation of lawmakers. After the building was cleared, Congress resumed the electoral count, finally certifying the results at 3:45 a.m.
- American Insurrection
A historic day in photos: from a pro-Trump insurrection to a pre-dawn Biden victory sealed
Insurgents breached the Capitol, wielding Confederate flags and Trump banners, rampaging as they tried to halt Congress’s vote to certify Biden’s election.
Vice President Mike Pence made Joe Biden’s electoral win as the 46th president of the United States official in the early hours Thursday morning, presiding over a historic joint session of Congress that lasted through the night after violent mobs overran the U.S. Capitol, seeking to upend the Electoral College and popular vote results, egged on by President Trump in a 70-minute speech.
The normally solemn atmosphere at the Capitol Building was transformed into a scene of chaotic violence unprecedented in modern times on Wednesday afternoon, as a mob of insurgents waving Trump flags, Confederate symbols, pro-Nazi messages, and other symbols of right-wing extremist groups breached the building’s security, halting proceedings to certify Trump’s defeat and forcing lawmakers to take