A mob of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in an apparent show of support for President Donald Trump’s election-related challenges.
By the end of the chaos that ensued, reports show that four people were dead — including one Trump supporter who was fatally shot by a police officer.
Three more dead of “medical emergencies”
The alarming series of events began as Congress convened to certify the Electoral College vote tally declaring Joe Biden the winner of November’s presidential election.
Rioters overwhelmed Capitol police and entered the building, resulting in the death of a woman identified as U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt.
She was shot dead, as apparently evidenced in disturbing footage that shows the clash play out in real time. Additional details of the shooting, which occurred at around 3 p.m., had not been released as of this writing.
Three others at the scene also died throughout the day due to unspecified “medical emergencies,” according to reports.
For several hours, the Capitol building was the scene of bedlam as rioters smashed windows and lawmakers inside were instructed to take cover.
“I totally disagree with the outcome”
Separately, authorities in D.C. noted that they found explosive devices at the headquarters for both the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee.
After the dust settled, critics on both sides of the aisle were calling for Trump to be removed from office despite his denunciation of the violence that took place. Some — even in the Republican Party — blamed the president for inciting the riot.
“Lies have consequences,” said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE). “This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the president’s addiction to constantly stoking division.”
As of Thursday, social media sites had announced suspensions of Trump’s accounts, with Twitter threatening a possible permanent ban from the platform. With just two weeks left until the end of his term, new calls for impeachment or the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove him from office gained traction.
In any case, the president made his intentions clear in a statement on Thursday morning, explaining: “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. 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!”
The post 4 dead, including Trump supporter fatally shot by police, after Capitol riots: Reports first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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