Angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power, forcing lawmakers to be rushed from the building and interrupting challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Congress returned later Wednesday to resume their proceedings after the Capitol was cleared by law enforcement and confirmed Biden as the presidential election winner.
Look Back at How the Scene Unfolded Wednesday
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US Capitol Police Officer Dies From Injuries Suffered During Riot
A U.S. Capitol Police officer died from injuries suffered during Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol, NBC Washington reports.
Officer Brian D. Sicknick died about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a Capitol Police statement.
Sicknick was injured while physically engaged with protesters at the U.S. Capitol. He collapsed after returning to his division office and was taken to a hospital, police said.
Read the full story here
FBI Offering $50K for Information on DC Pipe Bomb Suspect
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $50,000 reward for information on a suspect accused of placing pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., the agency announced Thursday night.
The pipe bombs were discovered at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in D.C. on Wednesday afternoon, the agency said.
If you have any information concerning these incidents, contact the FBI's toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or submit tips online at fbi.gov/USCapitol. You may also contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
More Than 200 Congressional Lawmakers Calling for Trump's Removal
More than 200 members of the U.S. Senate and House support the removal of President Donald Trump, according to an NBC News' count.
The calls are in reaction to Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, which followed months of Trump claiming the election he lost was fraudulent or stolen, claims for which there is no evidence, and a rally Wednesday. Trump has been accused of inciting the violence.
The measures discussed include a possible second impeachment or the 25th Amendment. Almost all are Democrats or Independents; Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, is the only Republican.
Trump will leave office in a little less than two weeks, on Jan. 20 when Joe Biden is inaugurated. On Thursday, Trump in a video acknowledged a new administration would be inaugurated and he called Wednesday's chaos "a heinous attack" and condemned the violence.
Facing Calls for Removal, Trump Reverses Positions on Election Loss, Rioters and COVID
A day after he told his supporters "we love you," President Donald Trump condemned them Thursday for violently swarming the U.S. Capitol in a statement that called for a "seamless transition of power," NBC News reports.
Although it was filled with numerous falsehoods, the statement marks a stark shift for Trump, who only Wednesday had been slow to call for the rioters to disperse and had to be persuaded to send reinforcements for Capitol Police as the building was under siege.
His remarks Thursday were a remarkable about-face from the video he released Wednesday shortly after rioters stormed the building following a Trump rally, disrupting Congress as it was formally affirming President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. Lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the count, were forced to flee. At least four people died.
Read the full story at NBCNews.com.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Resigns
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned on Thursday, criticizing President Donald Trump a day after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
"There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me," she wrote in her resignation letter.
In a recent farewell letter to Congress, DeVos urged lawmakers to reject President-elect Joe Biden's education agenda, while imploring them to shield Trump administration policies that Biden has promised to eliminate.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Quits After Capitol Riot
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has accepted the resignation of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger a day after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.
The Kentucky Republican said Thursday in a statement that he had earlier requested the resignation and later received it. He says Stenger's resignation is effective immediately.
McConnell says Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemingway will now be acting sergeant-at-arms.
He says, "I thank Jennifer in advance for her service as we begin to examine the serious failures that transpired yesterday and continue and strengthen our preparations for a safe and successful inauguration on January 20th.”
Democrat Chuck Schumer had earlier vowed to fire Stenger when Schumer becomes Senate majority leader later this month if Stenger was still in the position.
Publisher Cancels Hawley Book, Citing His 'Role' in Threat to Democracy
Simon & Schuster said Thursday it was canceling publication of Sen. Josh Hawley's upcoming book, citing his "role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom."
Hawley, a Missouri Republican, was widely criticized after continuing to challenge electoral ballots even after the violence and chaos that unfolded in Washington, D.C.
"After witnessing the disturbing, deadly insurrection that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster has decided to cancel publication of Senator Josh Hawley’s forthcoming book, THE TYRANNY OF BIG TECH," the publisher said in a statement. "We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom."
Hawley called the publisher's move "Orwellian."
"Let me be clear, this is not just a contract dispute. It's a direct assault on the First Amendment," he said in a statement. "Only approved speech can now be published."
He ended with: "We'll see you in court."
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund Resigns
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning effective Jan. 16, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The U.S. Capitol was overrun Wednesday and officers in a law enforcement agency with a large operating budget and experience in high-security events protecting lawmakers were overwhelmed for the world to see.
Four protesters died including one shot inside the building.
Trump Silent But Press Secretary Calls Riot 'Appalling'
President Donald Trump himself has remained quiet but White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany delivered a statement to the press Thursday, breaking the administration's silence the day after the violence.
McEnany said Trump’s administration found the siege of the U.S. Capitol to be “appalling, reprehensible and antithetical to the American way.”
Trump has long said that only he speaks for his White House.
McEnany, for the first time, said that the White House was committed to the “orderly transition of power” to President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration. She took no questions.
The outgoing president has yet to condemn the violence meant to stop the congressional certification of Biden’s victory.
Federal Prosecutor Doesn’t Rule Out Charging Trump for Inciting Capitol Riot
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., on Thursday did not rule out charging President Donald Trump in connection to the riot at the U.S. Capitol building a day earlier.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said the Department of Justice will consider lodging criminal charges against anyone who played a role in the riot, which for hours delayed the certification by Congress of Joe Biden’s election as the next president.
A reporter during a press call noted that Trump had called on his supporters at a rally before the right to fight for him.
Asked if he was eyeing Trump’s role in sparking the chaos, Sherwin said, “I don’t want to sound like broken record. We’re looking at all actors here.”
“Anyone who had a role and where the evidence fits a crime,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sherwin’s remarks.
Read the full story at CNBC.com.
White House Fires State Dept. Official Who Said Trump 'Needs to Go'
The White House has fired the State Department official who called for President Trump to step down Wednesday declaring him “entirely unfit to remain in office” after a group of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in protest of Biden’s election victory, a source close to the official tells NBC News.
Gabriel Noronha has served as a political appointee in the State Department’s Iran office for almost two years, first as a special assistant and then later as the Director of Communications and Congressional Relations. Before coming to the agency, he worked as a congressional aide for the Senate Armed Services Committee under Chairmen John McCain and Jim Inhofe.
Noronha issued a series of tweets Wednesday that increased in fervor as events at the Capital unfolded.
First calling the riots “beyond shameful” and “possibly seditious,” the State Department official soon declared, “Those who invade the Capitol or encourage those who do doesn’t just “border” on sedition. It *is* sedition, plain and simple.”
"President Trump fomented an insurrectionist mob that attacked the Capitol today. He continues to take every opportunity to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power," Noronha tweeted Wednesday night. "These actions threaten our democracy and our Republic. Trump is entirely unfit to remain in office, and needs to go."
Police Identify 3 Dead From Medical Emergencies
District of Columbia police have identified the three people who had medical emergencies and died during the storming of the Capitol.
They are 55-year-old Kevin Greeson, of Athens, Alabama; 34-year-old Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Georgia; and 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips, of Ringtown, Pennsylvania.
Police Chief Robert Contee would not go into detail about the exact causes of their deaths and would not say if any of the three was actively involved in breaching the Capitol building on Wednesday.
Greeson’s family says he had a heart attack. They described him as a supporter of President Donald Trump’s but denied that he condoned violence.
Phillips was the founder of a pro-Trump social media site called Trumparoo and had coordinated transportation for several dozen people from Pennsylvania to Washington.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Phillips drove there in a van along with Trump-related memorabilia he had produced. The Inquirer and the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise both spoke with Phillips before the rally.
He was a web developer and founder of Trumparoo, a social media site for supporters of President Donald Trump.
The Capitol Police say a fourth person, identified as Ashli Babbitt, was shot by an employee of Capitol Police while the rioters were moving toward the House chamber. She died at a hospital.
Prosecutors File First of Federal Charges
Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have begun filing federal criminal charges stemming from Wednesday’s riot on the U.S. Capitol, according to NBC News' Pete Williams.
At least two people have been charged so far.
Mark Leffingwell is charged with trespass, assaulting a federal law enforcement officer, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Leffingwell is accused of trying to push past a U.S. Capitol police officer, punching the officer repeatedly with a closed fist, according to charging documents.
Christopher Alberts is charged with carrying a handgun and ammunition on U.S. Capitol grounds.
Capitol Police Chief Defends Response; Pelosi Calls for Resignation
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday called for the resignation of Steven Sund, chief of the Capitol Police, after a pro-Trump mob was able to storm the building.
"There was a failure of leadership at the top of Capitol Police. I think Mr. Sund — He hasn’t even called us since this happened," she said during a news conference.
Eva Malecki, the spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, told NBC News prior to Pelosi's call that "the chief has no plans to step down."
Sund defended his department’s response to the violent breach at the Capitol.
In a statement Thursday, he said officers “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions" as they stormed the Capitol. He said rioters “actively attacked” Capitol police and other law enforcement officers Wednesday with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants, and took up other weapons.
Sund’s statement came after lawmakers from both parties vowed an investigation into how law enforcement handled the violent breach at the Capitol and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Resigns
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is resigning effective Monday, becoming the highest ranking member of President Donald Trump’s administration to resign in protest after the pro-Trump insurrection at Capitol.
In a statement Thursday, Chao, who is married to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, said the violent attack on the Capitol “has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”
She said her department will continue to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s designated nominee to head the department, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
At Least 82 Arrested Amid US Capitol Riot
Dozens of people were arrested Wednesday after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, NBC Washington reports.
D.C. police said Thursday that 68 people were arrested, with 25 of those for curfew violations and unlawful entry on the Capitol grounds. Another eight were arrested for curfew violations near the Capitol, D.C. police said.
Capitol police said 14 were arrested, most for unlawful entry.
D.C. police released photos of several people described as persons of interest and said a $1,000 reward may be available for information leading to their arrests and convictions.
Schumer Urges Cabinet to Invoke 25th Amendment and Oust Trump
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to remove him from office following Wednesday’s violent assault on the Capitol by the president’s supporters.
In a statement Thursday, Schumer said the attack on the Capitol “was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president.” He added, “This president should not hold office one day longer.”
Schumer said Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and immediately remove Trump from office. He added, “If the vice president and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”
Facebook, Instagram Extend Block on Trump's Accounts 'Indefinitely'
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg announced Thursday the social media platform would be extending a block on President Donald Trump's account "indefinitely" after he repeatedly posted false accusations about the integrity of the election. The lockout also includes the company's other platform, Instagram.
Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing Trump to use the platform is "too great," following his incitement of a mob that later touched off a deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Trump’s account will be locked “for at least the next two weeks” but could remain locked indefinitely.
"We believe the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great, so we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks."
Twitter on Wednesday also temporarily locked President Trump’s account. It said Thursday that it had no news to report on further actions on Trump's account.
'I Can't Stay': Mulvaney Resigns After Capitol Riot
President Donald Trump’s former acting White House chief of staff resigned his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Thursday, saying “I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” CNBC reports.
Mulvaney joined a growing list of Trump administration officials who are leaving following the violent riot at the Capitol on Wednesday. The riot occurred after Trump addressed a massive rally in Washington fueled by the president’s repeated allegations that he lost the November election because of election fraud, which is not substantiated. A mob breached the Capitol building just as lawmakers were working to certify Electoral College votes in the election, sealing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Mulvaney said he called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday night to tell him that he was resigning. He served as acting White House chief of staff from January 2019 until March 2020. Before that, he was director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mick Mulvaney told CNBC, which was first to report the resignation. “Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in.”
FBI Calls for Help Identifying Rioters Who Stormed US Capitol
Brawl Nearly Erupts on House Floor After Pa. Democrat Accuses GOP of Lying About His State's Votes
A small group of House lawmakers came close to physically fighting early Thursday morning 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.
Rep. Morgan Griffiths, R-Va., objected after Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., said a breach of the Capitol by an angry mob earlier in the day was inspired by "the same lies you are hearing in this room tonight.”
"We know that that attack today, it didn't materialize out of nowhere, it was inspired by lies, the same lies that you're hearing in this room tonight," Lamb said. "And the members that are repeating those lies should be ashamed of themselves, their constituents should be ashamed of them."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down the objection and as Lamb continued to speak, Reps. Andy Harris, R-Md., and Colin Allred, D-Texas, shouted at each other from across the floor to "sit down" before confronting each other in the aisle.
Colleagues from both sides cleared their benches, with around a dozen lawmakers getting close to each other and arguing. The group quickly broke up when Pelosi called for order on the floor.
More Capitol Riot Coverage
After Congressional Vote, Trump Pledges Orderly Transition of Power
President Donald Trump released a statement via Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino's Twitter early Thursday morning in which he pledged an orderly transition of power.
In his statement, the president again made false claims about the outcome of the election but said that this month will bring to end "the greatest first term in presidential history."
Trump's personal Twitter account had been locked by the social media company for posting messages that appeared to justify the assault on the seat of the nation’s democracy. His Facebook and Instagram accounts were also later locked temporarily.
Congress Confirms Joe Biden’s Electoral College Win
Early Thursday morning, Congress finished counting the Electoral College votes and confirmed President-Elect Joe Biden’s win after a chaotic day that resulted in four deaths and forced lawmakers to evacuate the Capitol.
Despite the disruption and objections from Republicans to election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, members from both chambers were able to certify the Electoral College more than 14 hours after the process began.
Biden is scheduled to be inaugurated as the 46th president of the U.S. on January 20.
