United States Congress stormed by violent followers of defeated president, Biden win confirmation halted
- Reference: 1609969111
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/01/06/us_congress_trump_stormed/
- Source link:
Within minutes of the president speaking at a rally on the nearby Mall in Washington DC, in which he urged his followers to march to the Capitol and put a stop to Joe Biden being officially approved as the next national leader by lawmakers, fights broke out on the steps of the building as thousands attempted to force their way past the relatively few cops present and break into the building.
The insurrectionists were successful, smashing their way through windows and doors into the Capitol, leading to [1]dramatic scenes not seen since the British forces entered Washington DC in 1814. Both chambers of Congress were evacuated, halting the counting of electoral votes, with lawmakers forced to don gas masks as tear gas was deployed in an effort to clear the riot.
WATCH: The U.S. Capitol remains on lockdown after protestors entered the building [2]https://t.co/jbW1p1TJFE [3]pic.twitter.com/2HLhWJ7yt2 — Bloomberg (@business) [4]January 6, 2021
At least one person was shot, and is in critical condition, and [5]pictures of plain-clothes officers with guns drawn pointing at the doors of the Senate were shared online. During the security breach, Trump's supporters swarmed legislative offices, tweeting live [6]video and [7]images of desks hastily abandoned, with computers still on and emails visible and accessible.
Despite promising to lead the mob himself, the president was driven to his current residence, the White House, following his speech in which he claimed, without basis, that [8]the November election had been stolen from him.
In a lengthy screed in which the president argued that his [9]untrue allegations of widespread fraud were “so crazy no one will believe them,” he twice exhorted his supporters to disrupt the process taking place behind him in which his rival was being formally certified as the next president ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
Loser
The plea was a last-ditch effort by the president to retain his power and position following a lengthy failed legal campaign, numerous rallies in which he railed against democratic elections, and efforts to pressure officials, lawmakers and, finally, his own vice-president to overturn the results.
Trump lost the election by a significant margin, and was further weakened on Wednesday when his tantrums were blamed for the loss of the Senate from his Republican party to the Democrats in an election [10]for two seats in the state of Georgia.
Trump was embarrassed just days earlier when his effort to force the governor of Georgia to “ [11]find ” tens of thousands of votes in his favor were made public by the governor himself who recorded and released the phone call. With Trump’s grasp on power slipping, and his own party turning on him, the president turned to drastic measures.
The president was aided by a number of Republican lawmakers who [12]reiterated bogus claims of fraudulent results and used the vote certification process to make speeches from the floor of Congress.
BREAKING: The U.S. Capitol is on lockdown after pro-Trump protestors breached the building as Congress began to certify Electoral College votes for Biden. [13]https://t.co/QiCIeY3ZPv — Axios (@axios) [14]January 6, 2021
Even those lawmakers who raised objections to Biden's win were seemingly shocked by the result of their actions. Despite leading efforts to disrupt the ratification process, soon after Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was evacuated thanks to the rising level of aggression in the Capitol, he [15]tweeted : “Violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high. Anyone engaged in violence - especially against law enforcement - should be fully prosecuted.”
In the past few minutes, Biden gave a short speech in which he described today's trespassing of the halls of liberty as an "insurrection," and urged Trump to go on TV and call off his mob, some of which were [16]reportedly armed .
Meanwhile the president remained behind closed doors at the White House. Under pressure from senior lawmakers, who called the storming of the Capitol “Un-American” and demanded that the president tell his followers to stand down, Trump tweeted: “I am asking for everyone at the US Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order - respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
He later [17]told them to go home in a video address. We shall see if it has any effect. Meanwhile, the National Guard is being [18]deployed to clear the area, hours too late. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://twitter.com/i/events/1346454323635527680
[2] https://t.co/jbW1p1TJFE
[3] https://t.co/2HLhWJ7yt2
[4] https://twitter.com/business/status/1346910598118797314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[5] https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1346913199866703876
[6] https://twitter.com/WANaziWatch/status/1346911916480884736
[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/01/06/congress.jpg
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/07/us_presidential_campaign/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/13/us_election_security_fears_doused/
[10] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/georgia-election-results-raphael-warnock-kelly-loeffler-ossoff-perdue/4131906001/
[11] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html
[12] https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/06/954018944/mcconnell-condemns-republican-objections-to-electoral-college-results
[13] https://t.co/QiCIeY3ZPv
[14] https://twitter.com/axios/status/1346902059233193984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[15] https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1346906229189341184
[16] https://twitter.com/shiratarlo/status/1346940461521358848
[17] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1346928882595885058
[18] https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/01/06/entire-dc-guard-activated-after-pro-trump-protestors-storm-capitol-building/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I'd love to have seen him being tear-gassed and then arrested for treason.
I hope he refuses to leave the White House on the 20th and he gets dragged out crying like the baby he is.
Then tried, found guilty of high treason, and forgiven his sins as he forgave those who trespassed against him.
After watching this, after seeing this, if you still support Trump or think that you can conflate perceived ‘crimes’ by Biden or even by Clinton with the ‘misdemeanours’ of Trump then you are beneath contempt. In so doing you actively support a demonstrable fascist.
Similarly, if you continue to support his enablers in the UK (who, not coincidentally, are also the authors of our current disaster - Brexit) then you really aren’t deserving of any respect at all.
This is a truly shocking situation. If he didn’t deserve imprisonment before then he certainly does now. /rant
Kaiser Chiefs redux?
So 'I Predict A Riot' was ahead of its time.
How are Trump's actions not actionable by the law as inciting violence?
Re: Kaiser Chiefs redux?
Because he's the president, he can't be prosecuted unless he is first impeached by Congress and then found guilty of committing a serious crime and stripped of his office by the Senate. After that, he can be prosecuted as normal & sent to prison. But they tried that once, senators from his party supported him and the attempt failed.
Also, the people who would press charges all report to the president; he will fire them if they start investigating him.
There's nothing that can be done about him before the day Biden takes office.
Trump has stated "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters", and his lawyers have argued he could do that and would be immune from prosecution until he stops being president. Though the lawyer did admit that in that case, Trump could be arrested as soon as he stops being president.
Also, on his last day, he's also going to try the "pardon himself" trick, or perhaps the "resign and get Pence to pardon him" trick. That will tie up any court case for years. The founders of the US were honourable people, so that loophole didn't occur to them.
Unfortunately ...
... Trump can't be charged with Treason, because our Constitution only provides for that charge in times of War. Since Congress has not declared War, we're technically not at war - we can argue about the reality details some other time - therefore the Treason charge can't be brought. Although it should.
Even with these images being seen around the world, Trump's Republican supporters in Congress are still equivocating. People have the right to express their political views. That's a direct quote.
Yeah, right. By storming into the Capitol building dressed in combat fatigues and ransacking the place. While shooting videos on their phones, to post on YouTube later.
If any US Vets took part in this attempted Coup, at Trump's behest, shame on you . You are a disgrace to the uniform you used to wear. You took an oath when you joined, just like I did. Shame on you.
Re: Unfortunately ...
IIRC the Vice President with others in nominated offices can declare the POTUS unfit by the 25th Amendment - with presumably immediate effect. That won't stop what is effectively an insurrection and may even inflame the violence further. The USA - now looking like a 1950s banana republic - except it is hard to see the military siding with Trump.
Re: Unfortunately ...
> IIRC the Vice President with others in nominated offices can declare the POTUS unfit by the 25th Amendment [ ... ]
Yes, the vice-president can indeed do that. He needs a majority of the cabinet to sign off on the declaration.
Sadly I don't see Mike Pence doing this. He is too much of a sycophant. I'd love to be proven wrong.
The criminal currently occupying the White House is a danger to the world at this point.
Re: Unfortunately ...
He just threw Pence under a bus today. If the Republicans want to unlink themselves from Trump, now's the time to do it.
Re: Unfortunately ...
Unfortunately (for them) I think it's far too late for that
Re: Unfortunately ...
He did a lot more than I expected from him today. Obviously it is too late for him to grow a pair and do what is right, but letting the session start and not supporting (at least overly) the challenges raised, was frankly surprising
I'm surprised
that anyone has downvoted any of the above comments. Trump was clearly trying to ignore due process of law, and overrule the results of an election. Trumpists tried in court 60 times, and had no case worthy of merit, even according to Republican judges picked by Trump himself! They presented no evidence to back their allegations. If later they CAN provide evidence of wrongdoing during the election, then I very much hope that they do present it properly in a court of law, so that the courts can decide whether the result in question needs to be overturned. But violent protest, and storming the Capitol because they dont like the result of the election? That regards anyone that doesnt do or say exactly what he wants them to do or say? That's insurrection, anti-democratic, and frankly disgusting.
As for a president blatantly trying to rig a Senate election he didn't like? Republicans threw out Nixon for less. What a shame that Trumpists dont have the moral fibre of the Republicans of all those years ago.
He still has the kill switch
Red Button: Boom!
Burn it to the ground
In case you're confused about what 'it' is, I'm talking about social media. Four years of undiluted toxic discourse and hate speech has brought the US to the point of insurrection.
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube - all need regulation and fining billions for past crimes. There is no such thing as unregulated freedom of speech. They are publishers and should be treated as such. If they publish hate speech then they should face the consequences.
Re: Burn it to the ground
In the USA people spreading such hate will always quote their rights in the 1st and 2nd Amendments.
Re: Burn it to the ground
Totally agree with the sentiment!
Just one point of order: "Four years of undiluted toxic discourse" is underselling it. Trump is not the cause of the disease, only its ugliest symptom.
He managed to weaponize what was already there for his own gain, but the proof of the toxic influence of social media, the damage caused by the echo chambers, the infinite capacity to repeat lies, were clearly known -if underestimated- long before the US 2016 campaing
Re: Burn it to the ground
President George Washington's farewell address on leaving office:
“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”
Re: Burn it to the ground
Repealing Section 230, however, was intended to force social media to accept more stuff from Trump and his supporters, not reject it. So that isn't the way to go.
There's no worse loser than a loser who can't lose.
I believe it's time to remove him immediately because he's a crazy man who can't be the President of the United States. And he should spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital. He and his cronies made more damages to the Unites States than all its enemies combined.
"Make America Great Again"? They abased it as never before in history. Maybe only McCarthy got closer enough. All of them acting like realCommunists. Blind faith in their "dear Leader", and trashing the Constitution.
Careful. Slow down and THINK.
A couple hundred hot-headed idiots are not going to stop the political process here in the United States. Their actions are not going to affect anyone in the US in any way, shape or form long-term ... Except for themselves[0]. The dumb-asses will be processed, and dealt with according to law.
Remember, children, protest is GOOD. Everybody is allowed to voice their opinion here in the US. And we SHOULD. However, dumb-asses rioting and busting into Federal buildings isn't voicing an opinion, it's an attempt at insurrection. Which is about as anti-American as it gets. How dare they?
Congress will resume in the morning, the Republicans will have their little tiff, the Democrats (with the help of the VP) will probably gain control of the Senate, and Biden will be sworn in at Noon on Inauguration Day. Nothing will stop this, regardless of what the cry-baby in the Oval Office and his self-appointed violent minions try to do.
As for me and mine, nothing that is happening in DC this afternoon will affect our lives one bit. It is absolutely laughable to think otherwise, no matter how much the news tries to suggest otherwise. This is a story that happened, but it's all over now ... barring the mopping up, of course. Time to get on with prepping dinner, tomorrow is another day. Will probably lightly till the trash under in the big veggie garden and put in our yearly Winter cover crop to hold the soil in until spring. Life continues, and we all gotta eat.
[0] Yes, I know, apparently one women was hurt badly, possibly shot. Keep her and her family in your thoughts. They have done absolutely nothing to deserve being put into this position by a handful of un-American thugs.
Re: Careful. Slow down and THINK.
" The dumb-asses will be processed, and dealt with according to law. "
Yes, so very helpful of Elijah Schaffer to not only say what he was doing with his name attached, but also provide photographic evidence...
Re: Careful. Slow down and THINK.
There are reports of similar 'protests' happening in Ohio and New Mexico.
I wonder ...
... whether Mr Trump will further denigrate the office of President of the USA by pardoning the rioters who stormed the US Houses of Congress.
I also wonder why we have not heard Vice President Pence's reaction to the events, including the astonishing act of him being escorted from the Capitol by his Secret Service bodyguards.
The phrase 'interesting times' does not even begin to do the events justice.
Re: I wonder ...
From the BBC US Live Feed at 20:45 UTC
The vice-president has asked Trump supporters to leave the Capitol and stop the violence.
"This attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Mike Pence tweeted.
Pence, who has insisted he cannot overturn the results of the election despite pressure for the president, was presiding over the electoral college vote when protesters stormed the building and he was shepherded to safety.
Re: I wonder ...
Mike Pence tweeted that? Oh, dear, now he really is in disagreement with Trump, wanting to throw the book at these fine people.
Remember the title of that book published two years ago - "Everything Trump Touches Dies"