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U.S. Capitol Police hold protesters at gunpoint near the House Chamber on Wednesday. Associated Press/Andrew Harnik
WASHINGTON President Trump told his supporters on Wednesday to “go home” after they stormed the Capitol in protest of his reelection defeat, but he also praised their mission even after it had erupted in violence and suggested it was justified.
In a video message tweeted as authorities struggled to take control of Capitol Hill, Trump insisted on promoting his baseless allegations of mass voter fraud and said loyalists who had swarmed the seat of American democracy were “very special.”
Twitter and Facebook removed the short video. YouTube also said it had removed the video for spreading false claims about widespread election fraud. A copy of the video was still easy to find. Twitter also locked his account for 12 hours.
The U.S. Capitol Police said it was evacuated areas near the building as pro-Trump protesters stormed barricades set up outside the perimeter, and law enforcement officers were seen trying to push them back.
The Library of Congress, located directly across the street from the main Capitol building, was evacuated and people were told to remain calm and move in a safe manner to the exits.
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., tweeted that she had to evacuate her congressional office because a pipe bomb was reported outside the Capitol. Supporters of the President are trying to force their way into the Capitol and I can hear what sounds like multiple gunshots, Luria tweeted.
Chaos, violence, mockery as pro-Trump mob occupies Congress
A woman was shot and killed after dozens stormed the Capitol
Ashraf Khalil And Michael Balsamo
Associated Press
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Lawmakers evacuate the floor as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
WASHINGTON – “Where are they?” a Trump supporter demanded in a crowd of dozens roaming the halls of the Capitol, bearing Trump flags and pounding on doors.
They lawmakers, staff members and more were hiding under tables, hunkered in lockdowns, saying prayers and seeing the fruits of the country’s divisions up close and violent.
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As Trump backers descend on capital, military hopes to avoid political fray Author: Paul Sonne, Missy Ryan, Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post Updated: January 6 Published January 6
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Print article WASHINGTON - Pentagon leaders are bracing for any renewed presidential attempts to employ the military for political ends, as President Donald Trump takes increasingly aggressive steps to overturn his electoral defeat, and unarmed National Guardsmen prepare for pro-Trump protests in Washington on the day Congress is set to certify the election results. Top Pentagon officials, in answering a request by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, to deploy National Guardsmen in the nation’s capital in advance of Wednesday’s protests, emphasized that the Guard wouldn’t carry firearms, use armored vehicles or helicopters, or receive backup from units in other states - a far more muted presence than in June after the Minneapolis police killing o