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Those who attacked their own nation’s Capitol failed to consider the consequences of doing so. This is part 10.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Donald Trump supporters staged an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. The Guardian reported that people stormed the chambers of the House and Senate while the Electoral College votes were being tallied.
January 5, 2021: NBC News reported: “Trump leans harder on Pence to flip election results, even though he lacks that power” It was written by Shannon Pettypiece, Monica Alba, Alex Moe, and Kristen Welker
President Donald Trump turned up the pressure Tuesday to enlist Vice President Mike Pence in a futile effort to reverse the presidential election and keep them in office for four more years.
With a president who has excelled at remaining the focus of Washington, Pence has largely played the role of quiet support character, never publicly rebuking his boss and sticking to his script with unwavering consistency.
But Trump’s effort to keep from being evicted from the White House on Jan. 20 has pushed Pence into the limelight and left him in a position that a person close to Trump said he is “dreading.”
Pence has a constitutional role in officially making President-elect Joe Biden the commander-in-chief. On Wednesday, he will be responsible for overseeing Congress’s count of the Electoral College votes submitted by the states. A group of Republican lawmakers have announced that they plan to object, although they are unlikely to succeed in throwing out the Biden votes.
But Trump wants Pence, who will oversee the vote count, to simply reject the votes for Biden, a power he doesn’t have under the Constitution and federal law. Trump tweeted falsely Monday that “the Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” And during a rally Monday in Georgia, he told supporters, “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us.”
No vice president has that power. The position’s role in the electoral count process is essentially limited by the Constitution and federal law to simply opening the slates of electors from each state and reading them.
Pence and Trump had lunch together Tuesday, two administration officials said. The New York Times reported that Pence told Trump during their meeting that he did not believe he had the power to block congressional certification. Pence’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Trump’s campaign later put out a statement refuting the Times’ account and making false claims about what Pence can do in his role over the proceedings.
Maintaining order
Those close to Pence say they don’t expect any surprises.
Pence intends to act as a moderator, fulfilling his duties as president of the Senate, the sources said. They don’t expect him to take any actions to influence the outcome aside from letting members who raise objections carry out debates over the results as outlined in the rule. Pence thinks it is his job to follow the Constitution and the law, a person close to him said.
Pence has been “diligent about how he’s approached tomorrow,” a source said. He’s been “studious,” according to the official close to Pence, reviewing the federal Electoral Count Act, reading legal opinions, meeting with his chief of staff and his general counsel and speaking to experts on the subject matter.
“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election,” Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said in a statement over the weekend. “The vice president welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
In recent days, Pence has met with the Senate parliamentarian to go over the process and logistics, Short said. Pence scrapped a trip that had been in the planning stages to travel to Europe and the Middle East immediately after the congressional certification, people familiar with the discussions said.
Trump met with Pence in the Oval Office on Monday evening shortly before he left for his Georgia rally, where he called on Pence to overturn the results. Pence was back a the White House on Tuesday afternoon, with a Covid-19 task force meeting as the only activity on his schedule.
If Pence follows precedent and the rules laid out by Congress, his role will amount to reading the results once they are finalized, and “maintaining order” — a bit of jargon that generally means keeping the chamber quiet.
While more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will question the results in swing states won by Biden and dozens of House members plan to challenge the results, there aren’t enough votes in either chamber to overturn the outcome.
Still Trump’s allies have pushed for Pence to use his position to focus lawmakers to accept Trump’s votes instead of Biden electors.
A lawyer for an alternative slate of delegates said Tuesday that a letter would be sent Tuesday signed by 75 lawyers representing alternative slates of electors — none of which have been certified by any state governments — urging Pence to delay the vote count to give the states more time to resolve any disputes.
But legal experts said any such move would violate the Electoral Count Act, which says Congress must count the votes on Jan. 6. Pence has no authority to change the date.
The National Archives, which is responsible by law for receiving all of the certified results from states, received alternative slates from Republicans in five states — Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada and Pennsylvania. But the archives considered them as being “submitted by private individuals.”
The federal Electoral Count Act prohibits the archives from forwarding the alternative slates to Congress, because it can pass along only slates certified by the states.
The archives provided the information in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by NBC News.
Pence’s office declined to comment about whether it has reviewed alternative slates of electors from any contested states, nor would it comment about what it plans to do with them.
‘Whatever reputation he has’
Pence has his own political future to consider.
As a potential 2024 presidential candidate, Pence doesn’t want to be in his current position, those close to him say.
If Pence breaks with Trump, he risks alienating Trump’s supporters. If he tries in any way to block the results, he could alienate independents and moderate Republicans who disagree with Trump’s behavior.
“He’s hoping he can get through it without incurring wrath from Trump and keeping intact whatever reputation he has,” a person close to Trump said Monday.
A person close to Pence said that while he and his advisors understand that there will be political implication to whatever he does, they see it as a no-win situation and haven’t been trying to find a way to use it to score political points.
Pence is doing everything possible to “appear as loyal as ever” without “destroying his future,” said a person familiar with his discussions.
While the vote count is being readied, Trump will be holding a campaign-style rally outside the White House intended to stop the vote certification with false claims of widespread election fraud.
January 5, 2021: NBC News posted: “Fact check: No, Pence can’t overturn the election results” It was written by Jane C. Timm.
President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Vice President Mike Pence could single-handedly reject certain electors during Congress’ Electoral College certification process, turning up the pressure on him to help overturn the results of the election.
“The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors,” Trump tweeted.
This is false.
Pence, in his role as president of the Senate, is scheduled to preside over Congress’ certification of the results Wednesday, as detailed by the 12th Amendment. But he can’t intervene in the process.
The law governing the certification process, the Electoral Count Act of 1887, specifically limits the power of the president of the Senate precisely because a president of the Senate had intervened in the count previously. In 1857, after James Buchanan’s win, the Senate president overruled an objection against Wisconsin electors who had been delayed in their certification process by a snowstorm in 1856.
“One of the points of the Electoral Count Act is to constrain the vice president given this earlier episode and make it clear he’s a presider, not a decider,” said former Federal Election Commission Commission Chairman Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center.
The Electoral Count Act, Potter said, offers a detailed playbook for how Congress counting is supposed to go, and it specifically limits the vice president to ceremonial duties.
“It says the vice president shall preside and he shall ensure that the certification and votes from the states are opened and read out,” Potter said.
Trump and his supporters have spent months trying to cast doubt on and overturn the results of the election. Biden, who won the Electoral College vote by 306-232, will be sworn in as 46th president on Jan. 20.
Trump’s campaign and supporters have filed dozens of suits, only to be swatted down for lack of evidence or standing.
A federal district court in Washington recently ruled against a last-ditch effort suit by Trump supporters against Pence, Congress and the Electoral College that sought to stop the certification of Biden’s win.
The plaintiffs’ theory “lies somewhere between a willful mistreating of the Constitution and fantasy,” a judge ruled Monday, denying the motion.
Trump has also rallied Republican members to object to the certification in Congress even though the effort is certainly doomed to fail — both chambers must agree to toss out a state’s slate of electors, and Democrats control the House.
Potter said that if Pence did try to disregard the law and intervene, he’d have to argue that the Electoral College Act was unconstitutional in some way.
“Which any historian would tell you is nuts,” Peter said. “No one ever intended the vice president to be the kingmaker.”
January 5, 2021: NBC News posted: “Ossoff declares victory in Senate race that’s still too close to call” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Ossoff declared victory in a live video statement at 8 a.m. ET Wednesday against his race against Republican David Perdue whose Senate term expired over the weekend and who ran for reelection.
NBC News projects that the race is too close to call. With 98 percent of the vote in, Ossoff leads by 0.4 percentage point.
“It is with humility that I thank the people of Georgia, for electing me to serve you in the United States Senate, thank you for the confidence and trust that you have placed in me,” Ossoff said.
“I am honored by your support, by your confidence by your trust, and I will look forward to serving you in the United States Senate with integrity and humility, without honor and getting things done for the people of Georgia,” he added.
A number of streets have been blocked off throughout the nation’s capitol, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has called in the National guard as a precaution.
January 5, 2021: NBC News posted: “Trump to address D.C. rally where 30,000 people are expected” It was written by Rebecca Shabad and Monica Alba
Ahead of the counting of the Electoral votes on Capitol Hill, Trump plans to address a “Save America Rally” in downtown Washington at 11 a.m. ET.
A National Park Service spokesman told NBC News that organizers expect as many as 30,000 people at the event near the White House. The permit originally was submitted for a crowd size of 10,000, but the group had tripled its estimate based on responses and people already in the D.C. area as of Tuesday, according to the official.
“It’s going to be a big couple of days, but this is literally going to be his last gasp,” the Trump ally said of Wednesday’s proceedings, which could drag into Thursday. “There’s not anything he can latch not to after this.
January 5, 2021: NBC News posted: “DC Police make several arrests ahead of major pro-Trump protest” It was written by Allan Smith.
Several people were arrested in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in connection to protests ahead of Congress’ certification of the Electoral College votes on Wednesday.
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police said six arrests were made as of 9 p.m. ET, including some involving multiple charges. Those charges includes a handful that were weapons-related, including carrying firearms without a license, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of an unregistered firearm. Protesters were also charged with assaulting a police officer and simple assault.
Tuesday’s rallies in support of President Donald Trump, who refuses to accept his November electoral loss to President-elect Biden, featured an array of conservative speakers and drew in throngs of Trump supporters who traveled to the nation’s capital ahead of Wednesday’s proceedings.
Though the formal events ended earlier Tuesday, protesters remained out in the street well into the night, with videos on social media showing some clashing with the police.
The main draw will take place Wednesday morning ahead of the congressional gathering, where the president himself will address a protest outside the White House dubbed “March for Trump/Save America” rally. Thousands are expected to attend that event, which was organized by the pro-Trump Women for American First.
The president has made a slew of unsuccessful efforts to overturn his loss both through lawsuits and attempts to convict state legislators to ignore their vote in their states and appoint pro-Trump electors. As his final Hail Mary, the president has sought to rev his supporters up over the Jan. 6 certification, claiming that it presents the opportunity for Congress to overturn the election. With Democrats in control of the House and dozens of GOP senators opposing the effort, that plot is doomed to fail as well.
The president has also turned up the heat on Vice President Mike Pence, who will preside over the ceremony, claiming he can intervene in the count. But the ceremonial role does not provide Pence with such powers.
Still, Trump’s most ardent supporters heeded his call. In anticipation of possible violence, Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser mobilized the National Guard and increased police presence.
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: ‘Do it Mike’: Trump encourages Pence to overturn election — which he can’t do” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Trump tweeted Wednesday morning to urge Pence to try to overturn Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election when he counts the Electoral College votes in Congress later that day.
Pence, however, has no power to do that. Biden will become president on Jan. 20.
“All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage,” he tweeted. Again, Pence can’t do that.
January 5, 2021: NBC News reported: “Congress is set to count the Trump-Biden Electoral College votes. Here’s the lowdown.” It was written by Dareh Gregorian.
It’s the final step leading to the inauguration the next president of the United States, but the Electoral College vote count in Congress on Wednesday is expected to be a much longer — and more contentious – affair than normal.
Verifying the vote count is constitutionally required, but it has become largely procedural — electors officially cast their votes on Dec. 14, and Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump by 306-232, a result Trump referred to as a “landslide” when he won with the same numbers in 2016. Unlike Trump then, Biden also won the popular vote, garnering 7 million more votes than Trump.
Some Republican lawmakers plan to use the congressional vote count to object to Biden’s wins in numerous swing states in a Hail Mary-type bid to keep Trump in the White House. The objections are expected to fail, but they could turn the typically short ceremony into an hours- or even days-long event.
Here’s what to expect.
What’s supposed to happen?
Under federal law, Jan. 6 is the date Electoral Collage votes determining the next president are counted in a joint session of Congress beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
The process over the president of the Senate — in this case, Vice President Mike Pence.
The vice president opens the states’ sealed certificate in alphabetical order and hands them to one of four “tellers” — a Republican and a Democrat from each chamber of Congress who review the certificates and announce the states’ votes.
The process continues uninterrupted until all the votes are announced and counted — unless there’s a recognized objection.
Which objections are recognized?
For an objection to a state’s vote to be considered, it has to be a written document signed by at least one member of the House and one from the Senate.
An objection to a state’s entire slate of electors has been raised only once, since the Electoral Count Act was enacted in 1887. That’s expected to happen again Wednesday — a dozen Republican House members have said they plan to object to votes from swing states won by Biden, and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced last week that he planned to join at least some of the challenges.
On Saturday, 11 more GOP senators said they would vote to sustain objections in six swing states unless there’s a 10-day audit to review vote that have already been certified after canvasses, audits and/or recounts. There’s been no movement toward such an audit.
What happens then?
If there’s a recognized objection to a state’s vote, the vote counting is halted while both chambers go their separate ways and have up to two hours of debate on it. They then vote on whether to sustain the objection and dismiss the state’s votes.
For a state’s vote to be dismissed — something that hasn’t happened since the Electoral Count Act was passed over 130 years ago — majority of both houses have to vote to sustain the objection. If one chamber votes to toss the state’s votes and the other doesn’t, the objection is dismissed.
After the objection is voted on, the joint congressional session reconvenes and continues with the count. If there’s another formal objection to a different state’s vote, the process is repeated.
In 2005, an objection to Ohios electors and the vote on the objection took almost three hours. If Trump allies do challenge the vote in all six states targeted this time — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the vote count could easily go into Thursday.
Why are the objections likely to fail?
The Democrats have majority control of the House, and they are expected to be unified against an objection to any state’s vote. While that alone would be enough to defeat a formal objection, the Senate isn’t likely to vote in favor of an objection, either.
Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate, and a number of GOP senators have spoken out against throwing out any state’s votes.
“I think the thing they’ve got to remember it is not just going anywhere. I mean the Senate, it would go down like a shot dog,” Sen. John Thune, R.S.D., told reporters last month.
Further dampening the momentum is that there’s been no evidence of any widespread fraud, despite wild claims by Trump and his allies that he actually won the swing states that Biden won because the election was “rigged” by vote-switching machines, dead voters, phony ballots, and improper rule changes. Election officials have conducted recounts and audits in many of the states Trump complained about, and federal and state officials and federal and state courts have found no evidence of any widespread fraud; they have repeatedly debunked Trump allies’ claims, conjectures and flawed legal theories.
A handful of fraud cases have been uncovered in key states — in Pennsylvania, three Republicans have been charged with illegally voting for Trump — but nothing large-scale that comes close to Biden’s margin of victory in those states.
What’s happened before?
Hawley and the Republican senators who plan to uphold the objections say they’re following Democrats’ precedent, but the scope of what they’re doing is wholly unprecedented.
The only time a senator has joined with a House member to object to a state’s entire slate of electors was in 2005, when Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep Stephanie Tubbs Jones – D-Ohio, objected to Ohio’s votes, charging that there had been voter suppression because of long lines and missing voting machines in minority areas. The move, which theoretically could have changed the outcome of the election, wasn’t supported by the defeated Democratic nominee John Kerry, and it failed in the Senate by a vote of 74-1 and in the House by a vote of 267-31.
In 2001, over a dozen House members tried to object to the vote in Florida, which Vice President Al Gore lost to George W. Bush by a razor-thin margin after a Supreme Court ruling decided the election. Gore, acting as the president of the Senate, ruled their objections out of order and concluded the ceremony by saying, “May God bless our new president and new vice president, and may God bless the United States of America.”
During the certification of 2016 election results, several House Democrats tried to object to the votes in a numerical of states, but they were ruled out of order by Biden, then the vice president, who noted that no senators had joined in their objections.
What if objections are sustained?
Even though it’s highly unlikely that any state’s vote will be rejected, some Trump allies hope that multiple states’ electors will be tossed out, bringing Biden below the 270 electoral vote threshold to win. If all six challenges were to succeed, Biden would lose 79 electoral votes. If Biden’s total were to go below 270, it could be up to the House to select the next president.
Under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, each state congressional delegation gets one vote — and while Democrats make up a majority of House members, the GOP controls the majority of state delegations, which would open the door to Trump’s being “elected.”
Trump is pushing for this unrealistic scenario, as well — he has called for his supporters to gather in Washington on Wednesday to show their support, and in an extraordinary phone call Saturday he asked Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find” him the number of votes he’d need to win the state, even though its vote has already been verified.
What else could Republicans try?
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, sued in late December arguing essentially that Pence has the power to pick which states’ votes and electors are counted. The Justice Department replied to the suit on Pence’s behalf, arguing that Gohmert should sue Congress, not the vice president. Lawyers for the House contended that the suit should be thrown out for a number of reasons, calling it a “belated and disruptive effort to impose a novel legal rule.”
Gohmert’s suit was dismissed Friday, and his appeal was tossed out Saturday.
Trump is still calling on Pence to take action, even though the Constitution only defines his role as opening the certificate while the Electoral Count Act says he additionally presides over the proceedings and announces the final tally.
“I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia on Monday night. “I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.”
On Tuesday morning, Trump went further, claiming incorrectly that Pence has the ability to pick and choose electors, tweeting, “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.”
Will this end Trump’s challenges?
No. While the verification of the count would put the final nail in the coffin for Trump’s legal challenges, he has legal actions still technically pending, and he has given no indication that he would drop them or concede. Whenever his fraud allegations have been debunked, he and his allies come up with new ones, and to date none have been found to have any merit.
Biden, meanwhile, will be sworn in as the 46th president on Jan. 20.
January 5, 2021: NBC News posted: “Fact check: Trump falsely suggests improper ‘voter dump’ as count continues in Georgia” It was written by Jane C. Timm.
While the nation waited for the results in Georgia’s Senate runoff elections, President Donald Trump on Tuesday wrongly suggested that the normal process of counting votes was a sign of fraud.
“Looks like they are setting up a big ‘voter dump’ against the Republican candidates. Waiting to see how many votes they need?” he tweeted.
His tweet came as state election officials announced that a large number of early, in person vote would soon be reported in Dekalb County, which includes part of Atlanta, hours after polls had closed. Those votes were expected to break heavily for the Democratic candidates, and did so, according to the county results reported after 11 p.m. ET.
“Just happened to have found another 4000 ballots from Fulton County. Here we go!” he added later.
Trump has repeatedly ignored the facts when it comes to regular election process, falsely claiming that he was denied a second term in part because of surprise spikes in votes for President-elect Joe Biden, and officials in multiple states from both political parties have sought to counter this misinformation. Election results are always reported in batches, and large cities can sometimes take longer to count and report.
After polls closed Tuesday, election officials like Gabriel Sterling, the voting system implementation manager, gave regular updates on outstanding ballots and urged patience.
“It’s as easy as this: counting election results doesn’t scale perfectly proportionately. Big counties have more ballots, and often take longer,” said Justin Levitt, an election law expert and professor at Loyola Law School who worked at the Department of Justice during the Obama administration on voting issues.
In a text, Levitt added that waiting on results was entirely predictable after the nail-biter race in November. “There’s NOTHING weird about waiting for election results are close.”
Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that Democratic cities, particularly those with large shares of Black voters, have orchestrated election-stealing voter fraud, and his attorneys have advanced broad conspiracy theories involving foreign communists. There isn’t a shred of evidence of this claims, and lawsuits alleging such baseless theories have been thrown out of court after court.
With the races still too close to call, Trump amplified suggestions of impropriety from allies on Twitter.
“Why are they stopping the vote count in Democrat Chatham County, Georgia? This sounds familiar!” Kayleigh McEnnany, the White House press secretary, tweeted from her personal account, earning a retweet from the president.
Sterling tweeted an explanation.
“Chatham County didn’t just stop. They completed the counting of everything they have in. That includes Election Day, Advanced & all of the absentees they had in. The last left will be the absentee by mail that came in today” he said.
Tomi Lauren, a conservative commentator, earned retweets from the president when she told Democrats were “scrounging up votes from mystical places again,” and later posted “I wonder when the water main is gonna burst in Georgia…”
The reference to a water main break is part of another debunked conspiracy theory advanced by the president. There as no water main break and surveillance footage shows there were no planted ballots, a Trump has repeatedly alleged.
Both races were neck-and-neck as of 12:55 a.m. Wednesday, through Democrat Raphael Warnock leads Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffeler, according to NBC News.
The other race is tighter, with former Republican Sen. David Perdue outperforming Loeffler against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Biden, speaking in Delaware on Wednesday afternoon, described the events at the Capitol that disrupted the vote count as “chaos” that “borders on sedition.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Warnock celebrates Senate victory: Georgia voters ‘heard a very clear contrast’ It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Democrat Raphael Warnock celebrated his victory Wednesday morning in his special Senate runoff election against Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
“I can’t tell you how honored I am that the people of my home state where I was born and raised and educated at Morehouse College have decided to send me to the United States Senate to represent their concerns at this defining moment in American history [at] a time when people are suffering in so many ways,” Warnock said in an interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show.
Warnock said that the people of Georgia heard a “very clear contrast” in the race.
Addressing the country’s divisiveness, Warnock, a reverend, said that he has experience bringing people together across racial and religious lines on a range of issues such as voting rights and criminal justice reform.
Warnock noted that people have been waiting for economic relief for months, and Congress was unable to pass $2,000 direct checks in the latest aid package.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Sen. James Lankford says he plans to object to at least Arizona’s electoral vote count” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told reporters Wednesday that he plans to object to the counting of Arizona’s electoral votes for Biden when Congress counts them starting at 1. p.m, ET.
Reporters on Capitol Hill asked if he had decided which states he planned to object to, and Lankford said, “I have, yeah. We’ll start with Arizona. So we’ll let that go from there.”
Lankford, who faces re-election in 2022, said there’s a possibility he might object to more states as well.
GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Braun of Indiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also plan to object to at least Arizona.
“We are not a cult. We’re not like, OK, there’s one person who leads our party,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If we have a sitting president, she or he will be the leader of our party.”
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” made almost identical remarks. “When any party is out of power, as Republicans are now, we don’t have a single leader,” Mr. Cotton said, suggesting Mr. DeSantis, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, Gov. Glen Youngkin of Virginia, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and himself as other leaders.
The sentiment was not universal. On “Fox News Sunday,” Representative Jim Banks of Indiana argues that Mr. Trump should stay at the helm of the party, saying, “Remember, when he was on the ballot in 2016 and 2020, we won a lot more seats than when he wasn’t on the ballot in 2018 and 2022.” (That is not quite true — Republicans are on track to win more total House seats this year in 2020 — but their 2020 candidates did flip more Democratic-held seats and did better in relation to pre-election expectations.)
But the shifting ground was clear.
Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, who has often distanced himself from Mr. Trump but also endorsed his state’s Trump-aligned House and Senate candidates, argued before the election that voters would prioritize the economy over threats to democracy. On Sunday, he acknowledged that they appeared not to have done so.
“I don’t think anyone likes the policies out of D.C.,” Mr. Sununu said on ABC’s “This Week.” “No one likes paying six bucks for a gallon of heating oil, especially with winter coming. But what I think people said was, look, we can work on these policies later, but as Americans, we’ve got to fix extremism right now.”
Larry Hogan, the departing governor of Maryland and an outspoken anti-Trump Republican, hinted on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he might run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and suggested that he saw this as less quixotic than before the midterms.
“I have been saying since 2020 that we have to get back to a party that appeals to more people, that can win in tough places like I’ve done in Maryland, and I think that lane is much wider now than it was a week ago,” he said.
Here’s what else happened on the Sunday shows.
Democrats took a victory lap.
Though control of the House remains up in the air, with Republicans favored to take a slim majority, Democrats expressed jubilance — at holding the Senate, at winning many state-level races and at still having a chance, if a small one, to hold the House.
Democratic candidates “rejected calls from Washington about, oh, your message should change,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC. “No, our message was clear: people over politics, lower costs, bigger paychecks, safer communities, and they knew the value of a woman’s right to choose. They knew how important it was to protect our democracy.”
Several Democratic officials were asked bout President Biden’s low approval ratings about polls showing that voters trusted Republicans more on the economy, crime and immigration, even if they ultimately chose Democrats based on democracy, abortion, and opposition to Trumpism.
“Do you have a concern that Democrats can’t win if they’re running against ‘normal’ Republicans?” Chuck Todd, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” asked Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
“No, I do not have such a concern,” Ms. Warren said. “Donald Trump, with his preening and his selection of truly awful candidates, didn’t do his party any favors, but this victory belongs to Joe Biden. It belongs to Joe Biden and the Democrats who got out there and fought for working people.”
“The things we did were important and popular,” she added, pointing to components of the Inflation Reduction Act like a cap on insulin prices for some Americans and a minimum tax for large corporations.
Anita Dunn, an advisor to Mr. Biden, made a similar argument, saying on NBC, “As the president traveled the country and I had the opportunity to travel with him in that final week, you didn’t go to a congressional district or state where the Democrats weren’t running on some aspect of the president’s agenda.”
And Gov. Gretchen Whitman of Michigan — who won re-election by a double-digit margin, and will have an allied legislature after Democrats flipped both chambers — said she did not believe abortion was separate from economic concerns.
“I know a lot of folks kind of wanted to say, ‘Should we talk about the economy or abortion?” she said on CNN. “But the fact of the matter is, the ability to decide when and whether to have a child is the biggest economic decision a woman will make make over the course of her lifetime, and that’s why we kept that front and center too.”
Republicans were divided on what comes next
Beyond Mr. Trump and the 2024 presidential campaign, Republicans face the more immediate question of what to do with their narrow House majority if they secure one — or how to proceed if they fall short.
Mr. Cassidy, the Louisiana senator, said on NBC that he wanted the next Congress to focus on concrete policies, including bipartisan legislation; he praised the bipartisan infrastructure bill and an earlier measure against surprise medical bills.
“If we have results that show, these are our ides — now, of the left frustrates our efforts, well, that will be part of what we will discuss, but we just have to make that case,” he said, pointing to Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who won re-election, as an example of someone who had enacted “polices that make people in Ohio’s lives better, and he had an incredible victory. We can go around the country and see that.”
Mr. Cotton said similarly on CBS, “We need to focus on serious, substantive accomplishments and issues like crime, like our wide-open border, like addressing runaway inflation.”
Mr. Banks, the Indiana congressman, when in a different direction.
At first, he emphasized passing legislation “that addresses the issues that the American people care about — bringing down inflation and gas prices, the border, the drug crisis, in America and the national security issues that keep Americans safe.” But then his tone changed.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “How the Biden Team is Framing Georgia — and the road ahead.” It was written by Mike Memoli.
As President-elect Joe Biden plans to speak about the economy today, he’ll point to the Georgia results as yet another clear mandate from the American people to act on the key climate challenge facing the country — Covid-19, the economy, climate and racial justice.
A Biden advisor cast the result as further evidence that Biden’s core argument in the campaign was validated by voters, both in the primary that he was the best Democrat to expand the playing field with a broad coalition anchored in African Americans and suburban voters, and in the general election that the country wants to see both parties work together.
The advisor noted Biden’s closing pitch in Atlanta on Monday was the same as the two Democratic candidates’: a vote for Democrats was a vote for $2,000 stimulus check and other urgently needed relief for the American people.
That argument stood in clear contrast to what Republican have been doing since the general election: “chasing President Trump down a losing rabbit hole of election fraud in an effort to overturn the will of the people,” the advisor said.
Another Biden adviser summed it up this way: “Democrats were focused on Jan. 5 and Republicans were focused on Jan. 6.”
As some Democrats now want to see Biden push the envelope and use even narrow Democratic majorities to advance their agenda, the first Biden adviser stressed that the president-elect, even with the victories, “is just as committed to working across the aisle” now as he was before.
“You still need to build consensus, work across the aisle, govern for everyone. And that is what he’ll do.” the advisor said.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Trump allies hope Wednesday’s drama will be his last stand — but no one knows what’s next” It was written by Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker, Kelly O’Donnell, and Monica Alba.
President Donald Trump’s allies are hoping Wednesday marks his last stand in a weeklong effort to challenge the November election results, with multiple people close to Trump privately acknowledging that his options will be exhausted once Congress tabulates the Electoral College votes.
“It’s hard to see anything behind tomorrow,” a senior administration official said Tuesday, adding that already everyone, including Trump, views efforts by dozens of Republicans in Congress to stop or delay the tabulation as “uphill.”
Yet people close to Trump also say he still may not relent after this final step in the election process, given that his determination to overturn the results has only intensified despite its having failed multiple times — including state certifications and the Electoral College meeting last month — and scores of legal defeats.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” one of Trump’s allies said. “He’s lost re-election. So for somebody who has no sense of shame, there’s no downside to him letting all the crazy out.”
There’s not a serious discussion of somehow using the military to block the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, officials said. But some of Trump’s allies have pushed the idea, and people close to him said that can’t rule out that he’ll entertain Hail Mary options to hold on to power as the end of his presidency approaches.
“He won’t stop,” a Republican with ties to the White House said, suggesting Trump will continue to press his grievances beyond Wednesday’s process in Congress. “He’s embarrassed.”
The Trump ally described him as “increasingly desperate.” And another person close to Trump said his behavior in recent days, particularly in pressing Georgia’s Secretary of State to find votes for him, “shows in his own words that there isn’t a path to victory in these election challenges.”
Already, people close to Trump said he has taken his election fraud claims much further than they thought he would.
After the election, they believed that over the next days and weeks he would get closer to accepting the results, even though he was never expected to concede. But instead, he got further away from accepting his loss, started to grasp at outlandish theories and iced out allies who weren’t completely on board, they said.
Trump is expected to speak at a rally in Washington on Wednesday to fan support for his efforts. But his aides and allies said there is no clear plan for how he’ll proceed during his final two weeks in office. The only thing they said they were certain is that Trump will leave the White House by Jan. 20, when Biden takes office.
What happens before then, they said, is unclear — although Trump does plan to issue a string of pardons.
The few Trump re-election campaign staffers who are left view Wednesday’s proceedings on Capitol Hill as an ending point and a form of closure to 2020 cycle, despite Trump’s continued denial. They expected him never to admit he lost the race, a fact he previewed at a Georgia rally Monday: “No, no, I don’t concede.”
Trump isn’t expected to attend Biden’s inauguration, and he has discussed holding a campaign-style rally instead, as NBC News has previously reported. Trump has also considered announcing a 2024 presidential bid on or before Jan. 20, but some of his allies are pressing him not to officially announce his candidacy until after 2022.
There is no infrastructure to formally launch a 2024 campaign in the coming weeks, as was once discussed immediately after the November election. Some allies expect Trump to spend the next two years dangling the prospect of another White House bid before making a final decision.
Either way, the senior administration official said, “the president is not going away.”
Some of Trump’s allies question whether he will actually mount a 2024 candidacy and see his discussions about it as aimed more at staying relevant. They also question whether Trump would have the “emotional discipline,” as one of them put it, to cede the spotlight entirely to Biden on Jan. 20.
White House officials said they view Wednesday’s congressional proceedings as a “fight for the process” and the “integrity” of the electoral system. And they underscore that Trump firmly believes the Nov. 3 election was unconstitutional, though he has been unable to prove that, despite two months of allegation which even some of his closest allies dispute.
After saying that, even with a small majority, “we have an opportunity over the next two years to be the last line of defense to block the Biden agenda,” Mr. Banks said he wanted Republicans to conduct investigations of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, its pandemic policies and the origins of Covid. He said he disagreed with Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, that voters would punish Republicans in 2024 if they focused on investigations rather than legislating.
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: “Trump allies hope Wednesday drama will be his last stand — but no one knows what’s next.” It was written by Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker, Kelly O’Donnell and Monica Alba.
President Donald Trump’s allies are hoping Wednesday marks his last stand in a weeklong effort to challenge the November election results, with multiple people close to Trump privately acknowledging that his options will be exhausted once Congress tabulates the Electoral College votes.
“It’s hard to see anything beyond tomorrow,” a senior administration official said Tuesday, adding that already everyone, including Trump, views efforts by dozens of Republicans in Congress to stop or delay the tabulation as “uphill.”
Yet people close to Trump also say he still may not relent after this final step in the election process, given that his determination to overturn the results has only intensified despite his having failed multiple times — including state certifications and the Electoral College meeting last month — and scores of legal defeats.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” one of Trump’s allies said. “He’s lost re-election. So for somebody who has no sense of shame, there’s no downside to him letting all the crazy out.”
There’s not a serious discussion of somehow using the military to block the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, officials said. But some of Trump’s allies have pushed the idea, and people close to him said they can’t rule out that he’ll entertain Hail Mary options to hold on to power as the end of his presidency approaches.
“He won’t stop,” a Republican with ties to the White House said, suggesting Trump will continue to press his grievances beyond Wednesday’s process in Congress. “He’s embarrassed.”
The Trump ally described him as “increasingly desperate.” And another person close to Trump said his behavior in recent days, particularly in pressing Georgia’s Secretary of State to find votes for him, “shows in his own words that there isn’t a path to victory in these election challenges.”
Already, people close to Trump said he has taken his election fraud claims much further than they thought he would.
After the election, they believed that over the following days and weeks he would get closer to accepting the results, even though he never expected to concede. But instead, he got further away from accepting his loss, started to grasp at outlandish theories and iced out allies who weren’t completely on board, they said.
Trump is expected to speak at a rally in Washington on Wednesday to fan support for his efforts. But his aides and allies said there is no clear plan for how he’ll proceed during his final two weeks in office. The only thing they said they were certain of is that Trump will leave the White House by Jan. 20, when Biden takes office.
What happens before then, they said, is unclear — although Trump does plan to issue a string of pardons.
The few Trump re-election campaign staffers who are left view Wednesday’s proceedings on Capitol Hill as an ending point and a form of closure to the 2020 cycle, despite Trump’s continued denial. They expect him to never admit he lost the race, a fact he previewed at a Georgia rally Monday, “No, no, I don’t concede.”
Trump isn’t expected to attend Biden’s inauguration, and he has discussed holding a campaign-style rally instead, as NBC News has previously reported. Trump has also considered announcing a 2024 presidential bid on or before Jan. 20, but some of his allies are pressing him to not officially announce his candidacy until after 2022.
There is no infrastructure to formally launch a 2024 campaign in the coming weeks, as was once discussed immediately after the November election. Some allies expect Trump to spend the next two years dangling the prospect of another White House bid before making a final decision.
Either way, the senior administration official said, “the president is not going away.”
Some of Trump’s allies question whether he will actually mount a 2024 candidacy and see his discussions about it as aimed more at staying relevant. They also question whether Trump would have the “emotional discipline,” as one of them put it, to cede the spotlight entirely to Biden on Jan. 20.
White House officials said they view Wednesday’s congressional proceedings as a “fight for the process” and the “integrity” of the electoral system. And they underscore that Trump firmly believes the Nov. 3 election was unconstitutional, though he has been unable to prove that, despite two months of allegations which even some of his closest allies dispute.
“It’s going to be a big couple of days, but this is literally going to be his last gasp,” the Trump ally said of Wednesday’s proceedings, which could drag into Thursday. “There’s not anything he can latch on to after this.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Pelosi declares victory in both Ga. Senate races, pushes for Voting Rights Act” It was written by Adam Edelman and Alex Moe.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday declared victory in the two Georgia Senate runoff races, praising “the courageous leadership of Georgians” and crediting it with providing “a Democratic Senate working hand-in-hand with our Democratic House majority and President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.”
Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Kelly Loeffler Tuesday, NBC News has projected, while Democrat Jon Ossoff is leading Republican David Perdue by a razor-thin margin in the remaining critical runoff election in Georgia that will determine control of the Senate and potentially the fate of Joe Biden’s presidency. NBC News has labeled the race too close to call.
“Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossify ran and won on the values of advancing equality and opportunity for working people across the state and the nation,” Pelosi said in a statement, adding that, “a unified Democratic Party will advance extraordinary progress For The People.”
“We will pursue a science and values-based plan to crush the virus and deliver relief to struggling families, safeguard the right to quality affordable health care and launch a plan to Build Back Better powered by fair economic growth,” she said.
On a weekly call with House Democrats Wednesday morning, Pelosi also told her colleagues that she has already spoken to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D. N.Y., who, if Ossoff wins, will become the Senate majority leader, and that Democrats must pass the Voting Rights Act, which would allow federal oversight of jurisdictions that pass laws suppressing the vote in communities of color, sources told NBC News.
That the answer is yes might seem obvious: Though Republicans like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida are drawing increasing attention, no one in the past six years has come close to matching Mr. Trump’s prominence and influence within the party. But as Republicans sought to explain their unexpectedly weak election performance in interviews on Sunday, the morning after Democrats clinched control of the Senate, some of them denied it.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Trump Urges Supporters Not To Break Law Or Use Violence in Washington D.C.” It was written by Gordon Lubold.
“I talked about how I intend to represent them,” he said, “And my opponent was focused on how she would represent her own interests. And I think the folks heard that loud and clear.”
The White House released a video Tweet Wednesday evening in which President Trump implored his supporters not to break the law or use violence next week in Washington, D.C. or across the country as concerns mount that protests could become bloody.
“I want to be very clear,” he said in the video. “I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country, and no place in our movement,” he said.
Mr. Trump has sent mixed signals since last week’s violent protests at the U.S Capitol and he has been criticized by both critics and supporters for his apparent indifference.
Republicans and Democrats alike have said he incited the deadly storming of the Capitol last week, but Mr. Trump said as recently as yesterday that his remarks before the protest turned violent Jan. 6 were “totally appropriate.”
But allies have encouraged him to speak out more forcefully.
“No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence, no true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement,” he said in the video. “If you do any of this things, you are not supporting our movement, you are attacking it, and you are attacking our country, and we can not tolerate it.”
His latest remarks come after Mr. Trump was impeached Wednesday, the second time, by the House of Representatives.
Law enforcement officials have said that more than a dozen groups supporting Mr. Trump have directed their followers to come to Washington and to beset state capitals in all 50 states next week.
In Washington alone, as many as 20,000 National soldiers, many of whom will be armed, are expected to support thousands of law enforcement personnel around Washington for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Since Mr. Trump’s Twitter account was suspended last week, the White House tweeted the video on a separate government account. Mr. Trump also used the video released Wednesday to criticize social media companies.
“The effort to censure, cancel, and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and they are dangerous,” he said. “What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another.”
Mr. Trump didn’t mention his impeachment.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Trump Urges No Violence or Lawbreaking” It was written by Rebecca Ballhaus
President Trump on Wednesday called for American to engage in “NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” as law enforcement officials prepare for the possibility of more rioting around Inauguration Day.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Trump called for Americans to “help ease tensions and calm tempers” and said violence and vandalism was “not what I stand for, and it is not what American stands for.”
Mr. Trump also sent the statement to supporters via a text message from his campaign.
The deployment of National Guard personnel to Washington ahead of next week’s inauguration is expected to reach at least 20,000, military officials said Wednesday, more than three times the original size of the planned contingent.
Advisers have urged the president to try to calm tensions in his final week in office, as the House holds a vote to impeach him for inciting last week’s violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump also urged his supporters not to engage in violence but accepted no responsibility for the Capitol riot.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Criminal Charges Proliferate Against Members of Pro-Trump Capitol Mob” It was written by Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman.
Several members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S Capitol last week have reported their own involvement to law enforcement this week, officials said Wednesday, as prosecutors race to charge dozens of the most visible participants in the attack and continue to dig into what kind of planning went into it.
Lawyers for several of the rioters have called law enforcement to disclose information about their clients’ participation in the breach in an effort to avoid more serious criminal charges and potentially negotiate plea deals, law-enforcement officials said.
In dozens of cases filed since the deadly riot, prosecutors have targeted some of the most visible participants whose efforts were broadcast widely on social media. They announced the arrest Wednesday of a Virginia man who as photographed on the scene wearing a sweatshirt bearing the words Camp Auschwitz. Among others arrested was a man from Idaho who was identified from photos showing him hanging by one hand from the Senate balcony.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Posters on Far-Right Site Discuss National Guard as Threat to Further D.C. Protests” It was written by Ian Talley.
Some supporters of violent action against a Biden presidency appear to have been deterred by the prospect of 20,000 members of the National Guard being deployed in Washington, with some expressing fears that protest planned there for Sunday could amount to a federal law-enforcement dragnet.
“I would NOT go to these events,” a poster going by the pseudonym “Tusco” said on Tuesday on the site thedonald.win, where some participants said they planned to storm the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6 attack. “They do NOT have verified sponsors, and will likely be non-peaceful. It’s likely a trap to bait conservatives.”
“We need 3 brigades in DC to secure our inauguration,” posted a person using the pseudonym “EyesintheHills” said on the same site Monday. “That’s more soldiers in DC than we have in Afghanistan. Let that sink in.”
Others appeared undeterred, including some who had posed plans for armed violence in D.C. ahead of last week’s assault on the Capitol. In a discussion on thedonald.win about whether Trump supporters should be prepared to use violence on Sunday. “Maga_Centurion” said: “I am. 1776 will commence. F— the government. F— the FBI. F- Commies. F—the CCP. Kill anyone who infringes on your rights.
Some posters on that site discussed targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in particular. “I’d off that f—ing bitch in a heartbeat,” Metalhead_Gamer said on the same site Monday.
“We need digital warriors to research her whereabouts. Hard information,” said a post under the handle “Morrowlane” Tuesday in a thread about Ms. Pelosi that included speculation about her death.
January 13, 2021: The Hill reported: “Pelosi: Trump is a ‘clear and present danger’ It was written by Cristina Marcos.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called President Trump a “clear and present danger” to America as he made an impassioned appeal to lawmakers to support impeaching him for inciting the violent mob attack on the Capitol one week ago.
Pelosi kicked off House floor debate on the article of impeachment stating that Trump incited insurrection against the U.S. government with one of the most impassioned speeches of her career.
Pelosi said that impeachment would “ensue that the republic will be safe from this man who was so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together.”
“Those insurrectionists were not patriots. They were not part of a political base to be catered to and managed. They were domestic terrorists. And justice must prevail,” Pelosi said.
The House will vote on impeaching Trump later on Wednesday. At least five Republicans are expected to vote to impeach the president, including Rep. Liz Cheney, (Wyo.), the third-ranking House GOP lawmaker.
Pelosi pleaded with Democrats and Republicans to “search your souls” to answer questions about Trump’s behavior.
“Is the president’s war on democracy in keeping with the Constitution? Were his words and insurrectionary mob a high crime and misdemeanor? Do we not have a duty to our oath to do all we constitutionally can to protect our nation and our democracy from the appetites and ambitions of a man who has self-evidently demonstrate that he is a vital threat to liberty, to self-government, and the rule of law?”
“Our country is divided. We all know that,” Pelosi continued. “But I know this as well. That we here in the House have a sacred obligation to stand for truth. To stand up for the Constitution, to stand as guardians of the republic.”
She quoted from a speech that the late President John F. Kennedy was set to deliver on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, in which he planned to say: “We in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than choice — the watchmen on the walls of the world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility.”
Kennedy was assassinated before he could deliver those words in that planned speech.
“But they resonate more even now, in our time in this place. Let us be worthy of our power and responsibility,” Pelosi said.
“My fellow members, my fellow Americans: We cannot escape history,” Pelosi said.
Wednesday marks the second set of impeachment proceedings that Pelosi has presided over in the last 13 months.
The House passed two articles of impeachment in December 2019 accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into Biden, while the Senate voted last February mostly along party lines to acquit him. Trump will be the first president in the U.S. to be impeached twice.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “New York Transportation Employee Charged in Capitol Riot” It was written by Corinne Ramey.
A New York area transportation employee was charged Wednesday for what federal prosecutors said was his role in the pro-Trump riot that swept the U.S. Capitol last week.
William Pepe was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, prosecutors said. Mr. Pepe, 31 years old, was arrested on Tuesday around 1 p.m. in White Plains, N.Y. He appeared virtually Wednesday in federal court in White Plains.
A spokesperson for Mr. Pepe’s employer, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said Mr. Pepe was suspended last week. “Participation in the riot which resulted in deadly violence at the Capitol last week was abhorrent to the values of the MTA and New Yorkers, and those who attacked that symbol of American democracy disqualified themselves from working for the People of New York,” the spokesman said.
Mr. Pepe wasn’t required to enter a plea. A lawyer temporarily representing Mr. Pepe didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Magistrate Judge Judith McCarthy set a $10,000 bond. She said Mr. Pepe is required to surrender his shotgun and knife and isn’t permitted to travel to Washington D.C. except for court proceedings.
Mr. Pepe used sick leave on the day of the riot at the Capitol, according to court documents.
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Man Charged With Beating Police Officer With American Flag During Capitol Attack.” It was written by Aruna Viswanatha.
An Arkansas man caught on video beating a police officer with an American flag at the Capitol riot was charged on Thursday with obstructing a law enforcement officer, as federal authorities escalated their efforts Thursday to target some of the more brazen violent conduct from last week’s attack.
A man identified in court documents as Peter Stager allegedly partook in the riot and assaulted an officer from the Washington, D.C., police department. The officer was guarding an entrance of the U.S. Capitol after 4 p.m., when members of the mob grabbed him, dragged him down a set of stairs, forced him into a prone position and proceeded to forcibly and repeatedly strike him, according to the affidavit of FBI special agent Jason Coe. The document identified the Washington police officer only as B.M., saying it was anonymizing victims and witnesses.
A confidential informant notified the FBI on Tuesday that they recognized Mr. Stager from videos posted online in social media, and another video in which Mr. Stager allegedly said: “Everybody in there is a treasonous traitor. Death is the only remedy for what’s in the building.”
Another associate spoke to Mr. Stager about his involvement, and relayed that information to the FBI, according to the document, which was approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui.
That associate told the FBI that Mr. Stager had relayed that he believed the person he was striking was associated with the left-wing antifa movement, but the photos show the officer laying on the ground with the words METROPOLITAN POLICE across his back, the document said.
Mr. Stager had told his associate he planned to turn himself in to law enforcement for his actions, the document said. Mr. Stager couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “New York Man Known For Covid-19 Protests Is Charged in Capitol Riot”
A Western New York man with a history of local protests over Covid-19 business closures was charged in connection with his role in the riot last week in Washington, D.C.
Peter Harding, 47 years old, of Cheektowaga, N.Y.m was arrested by federal agents and has been held in at the Niagara County Jail. according to county jail records. He appeared by video Thursday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge on Buffalo, N.Y., but didn’t enter a plea.
Like the dozens of others arrested on charges related to last week’s riot, which led to the deaths of five people, Mr. Harding was charged by federal prosecutors in Washington. According to the complaint unsealed Thursday, Mr. Harding faces one count of knowingly entering and remaining on restricted grounds and one count of disorderly conduct.
Mr. Harding’s lawyers told the magistrate judge Thursday that Mr. Harding had called the FBI himself and argued he didn’t pose a threat to the community. “There is no evidence that he did anything violent,” one of the lawyers, Jeremy D. Schwartz said before his client’s hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly pointed to a video posted online on Jan. 7 in which Mr. Harding says he recorded the events at the Capitol and said: “We learned how strong we are.. If we can take the Capitol building, there is nothing we can’t accomplish — county government, city government, town government, state government.” The video was also cited in a sworn statement filed by an FBI agent on Jan. 11 as part of the criminal complaint.
Mr. Harding’s arrest came a day after the FBI posted a picture of him on its Twitter page on Tuesday, seeking information about his identity. Local media and others on social media quickly identified him. On Wednesday, FBI agents showed up at Mr. Harding’s home. He was arrested later in the day at a friend’s house, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.
The FBI statement for Mr. Harding includes images from videos showing Mr. Harding holding a lighter under a pile of trashed news equipment outside the Capitol. Mr, Harding told a local news network last week: “Nothing burned. It was metal. It was far from any structure.
Mr. Harding at first told Buffalo-area reporters last week that he hadn’t entered the building. He later apologized and clarified that he had been there as a “peacekeeper.”
Mr. Harding has been a fixture on local news programs over the past year, as he has participated in several protest against Covid-19 business shutdowns and mask mandates. In June, he was arrested for third-degree criminal trespass after he allegedly refused to wear a mask inside a Cheektowaga liquor store and became confrontational. His lawyer, Mr. Schwartz, said that case was still pending and that his client maintains he hadn’t done anything wrong.
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Extremists in Capitol Riot Had Histories of Violent Rhetoric and Threats.” It was written by Dan Frosch, Rachael Levy, and Zusha Elinson.
Numerous extremists and private militia groups discussed online and in their emails their plans to attend or support the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in Washington that ended in the riot at the Capitol.
Their public plans and calls for followers to attend the rally should have been enough to put federal law enforcement on high alert, current and former government officials said.
Instead, federal law-enforcement officials have said they failed to fully appreciate the potential for violence last Wednesday. Senior FBI officials have said agents were concerned that some people planning to attend the protest posed potential threats, and the agents attempted to dissuade them from traveling to Washington. But the officials said they had no intelligence or a wider, coordinated plot.
“It was no different than Charlottesville,” a Department of Homeland Security official said, referring to the 2017 white supremacist rally in Virginia that left one woman dead and dozens injured. “Why couldn’t leadership see this coming? … We were caught with our pants down.”…
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted “Man Who Allegedly Threw Fire Extinguisher At Police Arrested On Federal Charges” It was written by Aruna Viswanatha and Erin Ailworth.
A retired firefighter from Pennsylvania was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers at the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol as captured on video, U.S. officials said.
Robert Sanford of Chester, Pa., faces three federal felony charges including assaulting a police officer after he was allegedly identified as the person who lobbed a fire extinguisher on the west side of the Capitol, at around 2:30 pm, as the mob crashed past a thin line of Capitol police officers and stormed towards the building on Jan. 6.
In an affidavit filed in connection with Mr. Sanford’s arrest, an FBI special agent described the mob as “insurrectionists”. “The video was shot from an elevated position and showed an area of the Capitol with a large group of police officers surrounded on at least three sides by a group of insurrectionists,” the statement of facts said. It also described the object hitting all three officers in the head, including one who was not wearing a helmet.
Around the same time, a radio dispatch captured by OpenMHZ, a platform that records radio chatter from law enforcement and life–safety services agencies, relayed an emergency code: “There is a 10-33 at the Capitol building. It has been breached.” The 10-33 code signifies an emergency in which an officer needs assistance.
The extinguisher that Mr. Sanford allegedly threw is separate from the one that killed Officer Brian Sicknick, who was also stuck in the head with a fire extinguisher during the unrest and died from his wounds, official said.
One of the offices who was hit, William Young, was evaluated at a hospital and cleared to return to duty, the charging document said. A friend of Mr. Sanford’s tipped off the FBI to his involvement, the document said, adding that he was around 55-years old and recently retired from the Chester Fire Department.
The tipster relayed to the FBI in an interview that Mr. Sanford had told his friend that he had traveled to Washington, D.C., with a group of people on a bus, that the group had gone to the White House and listened to President Trump’s speech, “and then had followed the President’s instructions and gone to the Capitol,” the statement said.
Law-enforcement officers on Capitol grounds were targeted by the crowd with a variety of makeshift weapons, including extinguishers and flags.
Dispatches captured by OpenMHZ caught several instances of officers injured in the melee.
“Multiple officers injured at the Capitol, west side,” one dispatch says around 1:20 p.m. Another at about 2:05 p.m. relays “Saying that they have an officer down, hit in the head.”
The charges against Mr. Sanford, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, come as prosecutors have filed dozens of cases against the most visible participants in the riot, many of whose efforts were widely broadcast on social media. Neighbors and others who recognized the participants have also provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with tips about their identities, according to court documents.
Mr. Sanford faces charges of using a deadly weapon in a restricted area, which carries a potential 10 year prison term, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstructing law enforcement.
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted “Sedition Laws Give Prosecutors Powerful Tool for Pro-Trump Capitol Riot” It was written by Jacob Gershman.
Over almost 160 years, U.S. sedition laws have been used sparingly, including against a Christian militia group, Puerto Rican militants and Islamic jihadists who conspired to blow up New York landmarks.
Now, federal prosecutors say they plan to bring seditious conspiracy charges in their rapidly developing probe into the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol last week. The charge is a powerful tool for prosecutors, signaling their intent to treat last week’s siege as a grave assault on national security.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against at least two dozen members of the mob — including the sone of a Brooklyn judge and a military veteran who brought plastic zip-tie restraints with him to the Capitol — on charges ranging from gun crimes to assault and theft. A team of senior national-security and public corruption prosecutors is handling the most serious offenders, federal officials said.
“Their only marching orders from me are to build sedition and conspiracy charges related to the most heinous acts that occurred in the Capitol.” Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, said Tuesday.
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Republican Voters Stick by Trump as Some Lawmakers Seek Distance” It was written by Joshua Jamerson.
Republican elected officials who have criticized President Trump following a mob attack on the Capitol are trying to navigate distancing themselves from the commander in chief as some GOP voters say they don’t want a clean break.
In this GOP-leaning suburb of Charleston, represented by freshman Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, some of the party’s voters said they will still back Mr. Trump. They condemned the mob in Washington last week but — unlike Ms. Mace — said the president wasn’t responsible for the actions of those supporters.
“Right now, Republican across the board are weak,” said Gary Simmons, a Republican. He said he opposed the violence on Jan. 6, but he thought Mr. Trump was right to challenge the November election results. He said he had expected more Republicans would object to certifying Mr. Biden’s win.
“I’d ditch ’em in a heartbeat,” he said of Republicans who try to distance themselves from the outgoing president.
Ms. Mace, who unseated Democrat Joe Cunningham in November, didn’t object to certifying Mr. Biden’s victory and has said she holds the president accountable for the riot. The freshman lawmaker voted against impeaching Mr. Trump Wednesday.
She also made a point of calling the mob that rampaged the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from ratifying President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory “domestic terrorists.”
“Every accomplishment that Republicans and President Trump have had over the past four years was entire wiped out on Wednesday,” Ms. Mace said in an interview, referring to the day of the riot. “We have to rebuild.” But she acknowledged that his supporters have been a powerful political force.
“In seeing the events that transpired… it’s clear that people, some people, have been brainwashed,” she said, pointing to Mr. Trump’s supporters believing his claims the election was stolen. “And I’m grappling with: How do we carefully and honestly pull these people out of it and bring them back to reality? And it’s something that I am very thoughtful of.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: “Sens. Tillis, Young, to oppose GOP colleagues’ electoral count objections.” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
GOP Sens. Thom Tillis, and Todd Young, said Wednesday that they oppose the planned effort by members of their party to object to the counting of states’ electoral votes by Congress on Wednesday.
“The framers of our Constitution made it clear that the power to verify elections is reserved to the states, not Congress. Refusing to certify state election results has no viable path to success, and most importantly, it lends legitimacy to the left’s state policy objectives of completely federalizing elections and eliminating the Electoral College,” said Tillis, who won re-election in November after a close race in North Carolina, said in a statement. “Congress should not overstep its Constitutional authority by overturning the results of states and the will of American voters, especially absent legitimate requests from states for Congress to intervene.”
“Oversight is a primary function of the Congress, and for the last two years there has been no oversight of the Biden agenda and the Biden administration,” he said. “That has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress.”
Both he and Young of Indiana warned that the GOP objections would set a dangerous precedent.
“For Congress to supplant the will of a state’s certified electors for its own would be unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent, damaging the integrity of and future respect for the Electorate College. This is not an empty warning,” Young said in a statement.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Defying Trump, Pence says he won’t overturn the 2020 election” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Vice President Mike Pence said in a letter released to Congress just before it started counting the electoral votes handing Joe Biden the presidency that he won’t try to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which President Trump had been demanding he do.
“I do not believe that the founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral voters should be counted during the Joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has ever asserted such authority,” he wrote in a three-page letter released by his office.
“Instead, vice presidents presiding over joint sessions has uniformly follow the Electoral Count Act, conducing the proceedings in an orderly manner even where the count resulted in the defeat of their party or their own candidacy,” he added.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “GOP registered first objection after joint session of Congress gets underway” It was written by Rebecca Shabad and Alex Moe.
The joint session of Congress got underway at 1 p.m. ET as Pence and lawmakers read the number of electoral votes that were awarded to Biden and Trump from each state.
Both members of the House and Senate began in the House chamber with Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at the top of the dais.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., along with 60 of his Republican colleagues quickly objected to the elector votes that were awarded to Biden by the state of Arizona. He was joined by at least Sen. Ted Cruz, who stood and applauded, in signing the first objection to the Arizona electors.
The joint session then retired. There will now be up to two hours of debate in both the House and the Senate, because a House member and a Senator submitted a written opinion.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Police evacuate area near Capitol as pro-trump protesters storm barricades” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
The U.S. Capitol Police said they were evacuating areas near the Capitol as pro-Trump protesters attempted to storm barricades set up outside the perimeter of the complex and law enforcement 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.
Hundreds of protesters, some carrying large Trump flags, were seen on the East Front of the Capitol trying to move past security.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Fact Check: No evidence for claims Arizona’s results were marred by fraud”. It was written by Jane C. Timm.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., joined by Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, objected to Arizona’s election results on Wednesday, kicking off up to two hours of debate in both chambers over a claim that those results were “not regularly given.”
Gosar has alleged on Twitter that 200,000 voters were changed in he state, contributing to Biden’s win. There is no evidence of this.
Arizona counties completed hand count audits of the vast majority of the ballots in the state. The audits found either a handful of discrepancies or no discrepancies. Several lawsuits in the state alleged fraud and were dismissed or withdrawn.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Obama congratulates Warnock: Democrats ‘should feel good today” It was written by Randi Richardson.
Former President Barack Obama congratulated Democrat Raphael Warnock Wednesday for his election victory in a statement posted to his Twitter.
“Georgia’s first Black senator will make the chamber more reflective of our country as a whole and open the door for a Congress that can forgo gridlock for gridlock’s sake to focus instead on the many crises facing our nation — pandemic relief for struggling families, voting rights, protecting our planet, and more,” Obama said.
“Democrats in Georgia and across the country should feel good today,” he added.
January 6, 2021: President Obama posted: “My friend John Lewis is surely smiling down on his beloved Georgia this morning, as people across the state carried forward the baton that he and so many others passed down to them.”
STATEMENT ON GEORGIA SENATE RUNOFF ELECTIONS
My friend John Lewis is surely smiling down on his beloved Georgia this morning, as people across the state carried forward the baton that he and so many others passed down to them.
“I took an oath under God, under God!” Young said. “Do we still take that seriously in this country?”
I want to congratulate Reverend Raphael Warnock on his election as Georgia’s next U.S. Senator — and while we’re still waiting on final results in the other runoff, it’s clear that last night’s showing, alongside President-Elect Biden’s November victory in Georgia, is a testament to the power of the tireless and often unheralded work of grassroots organizing and the resilient, visionary leadership of Stacey Abrams. Georgia’s first Black senator will make the chamber more reflective of our country as a whole and open the door for a Congress that can forego gridlock for gridlock’s sake to focus instead on the many crises facing our nation — pandemic relief for struggling families, voting rights, protecting our planet, and more.
Democrats in Georgia and across the country should feel good today. But the past four years show us that even outside of election season — and outside of races that garner national attention — we’ve got to remain engaged in civic life. From police reforms to gerrymandering decisions, many levels of real and lasting process are found at the state and local levels, and further advancements depend on us vigilantly honoring the precious, sometimes fragile gift of the American experiment. In recent years, our institutions, our democracy, and truth itself have been greatly tested by those who’ve chosen to prioritize personal gain or political ambition over our democratic principles. And even a good election will not eliminate these threats.
Yet we should also remember that in two weeks, we will inaugurate a new president. He will have a chance to work with a new Senate and House on the business of the American people. If we want to protect the gains we’ve made, achieve more progress in the years to come, and reinforce the foundations of self-governance on which our country rests, there’s no better path to follow than the one forged by the determined, organized, and confidently hopeful people of Georgia.
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: “4 dead, Congress evacuated, National Guard activated after pro-Trump rioters storm Capitol” It was written by Allan Smith, Ginger Gibson, Daniel Arkin, and Dartunooro Clark.
The U.S. Capitol descended into chaos and violence Wednesday as hundreds of pro-Trump rioters swarmed the building, leaving four people dead and forcing the Senate to evacuate and Vice President Mike Pence to be ushered to safety.
The frenzied scene after rioters broke through barricades forced Congress to evacuate parts of the building and abruptly pause a ceremonial event affirming that President-elect Joe Biden won the November election. In one dramatic moment, police officers drew guns as rioters tried to break into the House Chamber.
Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress, could be seen rushing out of the Senate chamber amid the sounds of throngs of President Trump’s supporters who surrounded the Capitol. Pence and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate pro team, were taken to a secure location, a senator told NBC News.
A woman was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol Police and three other people died in “medical emergencies.” Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said.
The doors of the Senate were closed and locked, and senators were told to stay away from the area. The doors to the House were barricaded, and some lawmakers were seen praying. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a 12-hour curfew in the city that began Wednesday evening.
Twitter and other social media channels were flooded with images of protestors skirmishing with police officers, and there were multiple reports of rioting inside the Capitol as some rioters broke windows, battered down doors and postured in the Senate chamber.
Improvised explosive devices were found on the Capitol grounds, several law enforcement officials said. Officers were in the process of destroying the devices, and it was not clear whether they were functional. At least one was made of a small section of galvanized pipe.
The woman who was fatally shot by Capitol Police was Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, family members old NBC San Diego.
Her brother-in-law, Justin Jackson, said in a statement to the station: “Ashli was both loyal and as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in. She loved this country and felt honored to have served in our Armed Forces. Please keep her family in your thoughts and respect their privacy during this time.”
Five weapons were recovered from the complex, and three arrests were made, D.C. police said. None of the people were residents of the District of Columbia. There were 12 arrests in the two days leading up to Wednesday.
Images from the clashed were rife with disturbing hate symbols: a photo of a noose that had been hung on the west side of the Capitol, protestors waving Confederate flags or using white power gestures.
Trump directed to the National Guard to head to the Capitol, he said in a tweet, and U.S. Capitol Police requested additional support. The FBI was deployed, and the U.S. Marshals Services assisted, too.
As Bowser’s 12-hour curfew went into effect, most of the protesters dispersed, but pro-Trump demonstrators were seen in videos on social media roaming the city’s streets amid a heavy police presence.
Washington police announced several arrests to the protests and about 50 curfew-violation arrests as of 10:30 p.m. The police department said that most of the arrestees were from out of state and that it was processing additional arrests.
Bowser said the city is working with federal law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute people who stormed the chambers of Congress.
All four living former presidents decried the rioting.
Former President George W. Bush condemned the violence in a statement and also indirectly criticized Trump and his supporters.
“It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic — not our democratic republic,” he said. “I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement.”
Bush said the passions of protestors were “inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes.”
Former President Barack Obama excoriated Trump in a statement and denounced the violence, calling it a “moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation.”
“Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy. They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires,” Obama said. “Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America.”
Former President Jimmy Cater said in a statement, “This is a national tragedy and is not who were are as a nation,” while Bill Clinton tweeted, “The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election lost.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, confirming on Fox News that shots had been fired inside the Capitol, called the mayhem “un-American” and said: “We can disagree, but we should not take it to this level, … You do not do what is happening right now. People are being hurt. This is unacceptable.”
Biden called on Trump to go on national television to “fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.”
“It’s not protest. It’s insurrection,” he said. “The words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad it is.”
The top Democrats in Congress echoed Biden’s message: “We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a joint statement.
Pelosi, in another statement Wednesday, called the violence “a shameful assault” on democracy and vowed that both chambers would finish certifying Biden’s win under heightened protection.
Congress reconvened late Wednesday evening, with member of both parties sharply rebuking the violence and vandalism of the chamber. Pence called it “a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.”
“To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house,” he said.
Former Attorney General William Barr, who was with Trump last summer as National Guard members sprayed tear gas to disperse peaceful protestors so the president could hold a Bible for a photo opportunity, admonished the rioters.
“The violence at the Capitol Building is outrageous and despicable. Federal agencies should move immediately to disburse it,” he said.
Dan Eberhart, a prominent donor to Trump and the Republican Party, also sharply criticized the protests and the president.
“If President Trump wants to have any kind of political future within the Republican Party, he needs to condemn the violence at the Capitol and stop claiming the election was stolen,” Eberhart told NBC News. “President Trump had his day in court. It’ time to concede defeat and think about his political future.”
He added, “The description of the Capitol is not going to be forgotten. He cost Sen. [Mitch] McConnell his leadership position, and now he’s s—–g all over the Capitol.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the violence in a series of tweets and called for arrests and prosecution.
“Let us swiftly bring justice to the criminals who engaged in this rioting,” he said in the tweet.
McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate majority leader, rebuked the rioters — without noting the source of the violence — and called them “thugs.”
“Criminal behavior will never dominate the United States,” he said. He did not identify its source, nor did he call on his members to drop their objections to the count. “This institution is resilient. Our democratic republic is strong. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Schumer, who is poised to succeed McConnell as majority leader, sharply criticized the protests but squarely placed the blame on Trump in a fiery speech before Biden’s win was certified.
“Make no mistake. Make no mistakes, my friends. Today’s events did not happen spontaneously,” he said. “This mob was, in good part, President Trump’s doing — incited by his words, his lies. This violence, in good part, his responsibility, his everlasting shame.”
Schumer also called for rioters to be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law — hopefully by this administration. If not, certainly by the next.”
Trump, who earlier Wednesday called on his supporter to march to the Capitol and even suggested that he might join them before he ultimately returned to the White House, addressed the chaos and the unrest in a series of tweets that Twitter eventually flagged for spreading false election claims and posing “a risk of violence.”
He asked people to go home but did not condemn the violence.
The chaos erupted after Trump spoke to a large crowd in front of the White House. He angrily vowed never to concede to Biden and baselessly asserted that the election results were fraudulent.
“We will never give up. We will never concede when there is theft involved,” Trump told supporters, some of whom chanted “USA!” or waved anti-Biden banners. He later falsely claimed that Biden would be an “illegitimate” president.
In the White House after violent clashes in and around the Capitol, chief of staff Mark Meadows, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among those meeting with the president, a person familiar with the matter said.
Some aides appear shaken by the events, which aired on televisions in the West Wing.
“There’s been some hard days and some challenging days,” a person familiar with meetings said. “I would say that this one’s the toughest.”
Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s chief of staff and a former White House press secretary, submitted her resignation Wednesday.
Twitter also, for the first time, locked Trump’s account after it flagged and removed several of his tweets for “repeated and severe violations” of the company’s civic integrity policy. The company threatened permanent suspension if the tweets were not deleted. Facebook also blocked Trump’s access to his account for 24 hours.
Trump had tweeted several messages, some of which were removed for “contributing to the risk of ongoing violence.”
Trump’s groundless claims of voter fraud have been widely debunked, and his legal team’s efforts to challenge the election results in court have been rejected by a succession of judges. Trump had claimed that Wednesday’s joint session of Congress was a chance to overturn the election, even though state electors had already certified the results and the event inside the Capitol was ceremonial.
Trump had put pressure on Pence to intervene in the count. In his lengthy and digressive remarks, Trump called on Pence to “do the right thing,” even though Pence’s ceremonial role did not give him with power to intervene. Pence sent a letter to Congress before the ceremony saying he would not be doing what Trump had hoped.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted that she was drawing up articles of impeachment against Trump.
“We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath,” she tweeted.
Trump was impeached by the House in late 2019 and acquitted by the Senate in early 2020.
Jason Bjorklund, who flew to the capital from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said he did not know what to expect when Congress convened.
“I just felt compelled to be here, because it seems like our republic is slipping away from us,” Bjorklund said. He added, baselessly that there were “mountains of evidence of fraud” and detailed conspiracy theories about voting machines using software made by Dominion Voting Systems.
When asked to account for the judges who have rejected the Trump legal’s team attempts to challenge the results, Bjorklund said: “I think we’ve got corruption from the top to the bottom.”
Before Trump’s speech, it appeared that some senators were being approached by Trump supporters near the Capitol, including an apparently exaggerated Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who said he would not vote against affirming Biden’s victory because he was bound to follow the law.
Theresa Riley and her husband, Bill, came to the nation’s capital from Michigan — a key Midwest state that fell into the Democratic column in November — to participate in the protests because they believe Biden’s triumph was fraudulent.
“We don’t believe they’re honest, true voters,” Theresa Riley said as Celine Dion’s theme song from the movie “Titanic” played on a speaker system in the background. “There’s a lot of cheating going on, and I think everybody knows that, including Democrats.”
Bill Riley said that even without “doing too much research,” it was clear that “something’s up” with the November election results.
“The only thing I can say is, however many people are here, this isn’t going to go away.” he said. “If you thought 2020 was weird, 2021 is going to be ‘hold my beer,” if you ask me.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “In strongest words yet, McConnell rejects effort by Trump, GOP to overturn the election” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
In his strongest words yet, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dismissed Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him and made clear that he will not approve the objections raised by his GOP colleagues over the counting of electoral votes from key battleground states.
“Our Democracy would enter a death spiral” if election were overturned, McConnell said on the Senate floor.
“Mr. Trump claims the election was stolen,” he said. “The assertions ranged from specific local allegations to constitutional arguments to sweeping conspiracy theories. I supported the president’s right to use the legal system. Dozens of lawsuits received hearings in courtrooms all across our country. But over and over, the court rejected these claims, including all-start judges” nominated by Trump himself.
McConnell spoke on the floor as the chamber began two hours of debate on a motion to object to the certification of Arizona’s electoral votes, which were awarded to Biden in November. The majority leader used his remarks to reprimand members of his own party who are challenging the official results of the election.
“We cannot simply declare ourselves a national board of elections on steroids. Voters, courts, and the states have all spoken. If we overrule them, It would damage our republic forever. This election actually was not unusually close,” McConnell said.
“It would be unfair and wrong to disenfranchise American votes and overrule the courts and the states on this extraordinary thin basis,” he said. “And I will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing. I will vote to reject the people’s decision and defend our system of government as we know it.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “McConnell’s calls for ‘shared commitment to the truth’ after not acknowledging Biden’s win for weeks” It was written by Jane C. Timm.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell gave a powerful speech on the floor demanding that members return to “a shared commitment to the truth” that keeps American democracy in working order.
“Self-government, my colleagues, requires a shared commitment to the truth and a shared respect to the ground-rules of our system. We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes, with two different sets of facts and separate realities,” he said.
It’s a remarkable statement, but it doesn’t come in a vacuum and ignores how McConnell has operated as a legislative leader while working with the nation’s most mendacious president in U.S. history.
In fact, McConnell has often kept mum while the president made repeated and sweeping false claims. Just this fall, Trump spent six weeks claiming victory in the 2020 election before McConnell congratulated Joe Biden on his presidential victory on Dec. 15.
January 6, 2021: Elaine Luria posted on Twitter (now X): “I just had to evacuate my office because of a pipe bomb reported outside. Supporters of the President are trying to force their way into the Capitol and I can hear what sounds like multiple gunshots . (1/2)
I don’t recognize our country today and the members of Congress who have supported this anarchy and do not deserve to represent their fellow Americans (2/2).
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Trump continues his attacks as protesters storm the Capitol” It was written by Jane C. Timm.
President Donald Trump continued to escalate his attacks and allegations of voter fraud, even as protesters have breached the locked-down Capitol amid security concerns.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Trump says.
Trump’s claims are false. Vice President Mike Pence legally has no power in this process.
Pence was rushed from the Senate chamber earlier today amid growing security concerns.
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: “Pro-Trump protesters breach Capitol, Pence whisked away” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
The House and Senate suddenly recessed Wednesday afternoon around 2:15 p.m. ET as pro-Trump protests escalated.
Vice President Mike Pence was ushered quickly out of the Senate chamber as it recessed and the debate between senators had to stop mid-speech. A member of the Senate told NBC News that Pence and Sen. Charles Grassley, the president pro-tempore, have been taken to a secure location.
This came as pro-Trump demonstrators breached the barricades and crowded on the Capitol steps, which is normally only accessible to lawmakers. People jumped the barricades surrounding the Capitol and police began running down hallways inside, telling people to get away from the windows.
A police officer on the third floor began shouting that protesters had gotten inside the building and that people should take shelter.
All visitors and staff must go through metal detectors every time they enter any part of the Capitol complex, including nearby House and Senate office buildings. While the entrances that the protestors were crowding near have metal detectors inside, it’s easier to circumvent them as it’s normally only entrances for lawmakers.
Senators were locked inside their chamber on the second floor of the Capitol building and protesters wearing Trump “Make America Great Again” hats and carrying flags were seen gathering outside the chamber doors. Senate chaplain Barry Black ran down the hallway, away from the Senate chambers, to his office.
“Immediately seek shelter in the closest office,” an announcement over a loudspeaker said across the Capitol, which told people to lock doors as well, amid the security threat. “Remain quiet and await further directions.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., told MSNBC that he’s “never experienced anything like this.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Pelosi, Washington Mayor call for National Guard help” A post on Twitter by Garrett Haake said:
Two sources familiar tell me that @SpeakerPelosi & @MayorBowser have asked for the national guard to come to Capitol Hill to clear rioters. One of those sources says DOD has not yet approved change-of-mission for the DC. Guard.
January 6: 2021: Mayor Muriel Bowser posted on Twitter:
“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 6, until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 7.
During the hours of the curfew, no person, other than persons designated by the Mayor, shall walk, bike, run, loiter, stand or motor by car or other mode of transport upon any street, ally, park, or other public space within the District.
The curfew imposed by the Mayor’s Order shall not apply to essential workers, including working media with their outlet-issued credentials, when engaged in essential functions, including travel to and from their essential work.”
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Georgia election official: ‘This is an insurrection.’ It was written by Jane C. Timm.
Gabriel Sterling, an election official in Georgia who has spent weeks condemning the false attacks on the validity of the U.S. election as dangerous and inflammatory, called the chaotic mob of pro-Trump supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol an “insurrection.”
Gabriel Sterling posted on Twitter: Anyone elected to the House of Senate who is challenging the results of the Presidential election in Congress are part of this attempted coup inspired by the President and they should resign. This is an insurrection…
He laid the blame squarely on the president’s shoulders: “I said several weeks ago that the words and actions of the President were going to get someone shot, hurt, or killed. Shots were just fired in the U.S. Capitol. Let that link in for a moment.”
One person was shot this afternoon inside the U.S. Capitol building by a member of law enforcement, several law enforcement official said. No other details are know, including what law enforcement officer fired the shot, or the circumstances of the shooting or the nature of the persons injuries.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Pelosi, VP-elect Harris both safe, official say” It was written by Rebecca Shabad and Mike Memoli.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is “safe,” a spokesperson for her told NBC News. The aide would not comment on her whereabouts.
She had previously been inside the House chamber.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who was on the Capitol grounds today, is also “safe,”a transition officials told NBC News. But they will not comment further.
January 6, 2021: NBC News reported: “1 person shot inside Capitol, law enforcement officials confirm” It was written by Pete Williams, Tom Winter, and Doha Madani
One person was shot and several others were injured amid the frenzy at the Capitol, law enforcement officials confirmed to NBC News Wednesday.
Police did not know details regarding the circumstances of the shooting, who fired the shot, or the nature of the person’s injuries. That person is in critical condition, according to D.C. Fore and EMS.
A woman was seen on video being treated for an unknown injury as paramedics moved her on a stretcher out of the Capitol Wednesday. The building remains on lockdown.
Five people have been transported to the hospital, including one officer, according o the city’s emergency medical services.
January 6, 2021: NBC News posted: “Aide says White House staffers ‘disgusted and disappointed’ by Trump’s behavior” It was written by Shannon Pettypiece.
Most White House aides didn’t go into work on Wednesday because of road closures and protests. One staffer, who has been at the White House of all four years and worked on the re-election, said they are completely “disgusted and disappointed” by President Trump’s behavior in these final days.
“Never did anyone think it would turn out like this,” said the White House aide. “The blame for this lies squarely with the President. And whatever support he has among members has vanished. As wild as it sounds, he could be impeached in the final days.”
The aide believes Trump has lost support for the objection of vote certification in the House because of Wednesday’s unrest.
“I don’t know for a fact, no one does, because many are sheltering in place, but I would certainly anticipate that,” the staffer said.
January 7, 2021: NBC News posted: “After escalating attacks, Trump urges ‘peaceful’ protest” It was written by Jane C. Timm.
There is a screenshot where @realDonaldTrump posted: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
The tweet does not acknowledge that Trump has incited the protest by advancing baseless conspiracy theories about the results of the election.
January 7, 2021: NBC News posted: “Trump’s online base sours on Pence”. It was written by Ben Collins
As some supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol, members of the president’s largest internet communities immediately turned on Vice President Mike Pence, as it became clear that he would not overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Supporters in “watch party” threads on some extremist websites pushed elaborate, QAnon-style conspiracy theories about Pence, claiming that he was part of an elaborate plot by Satanists to take over the world. Others simply expressed feelings of betrayal, and encouraged others to storm the Capitol.
Pro-Trump online forums had planned online for days to storm the Capitol if the election was not overturned in favor of Donald Trump.
January 7, 2021: NBC News reported: ‘It was predictable’: Extremism experts point to signs well ahead of riots” It was written by Brandy Zadrozny.
As pro-Trump protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol, online extremism researchers expressed frustration and disappointment with the inevitability of the movements they’ve tracked online coming to fruition in real life.
“It would be shocking if they hadn’t been saying for years they were going to do this,” said Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University who tracks nationalists and other extremist groups online. “And the role of the online platforms in fomenting this entire debacle can not be overstated. They consistently ignored advice from experts to remove the loudest voices pushing the most deranged conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric. They chose time and time again to look the other way.”
Similar breaches by Trump supports occurred in several different states recently including Oregon and Michigan, noted Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
“Tactics are contagious and spread quickly,” Donovan said. “It was predictable.”
Donavan said the strong QAnon presence in the riots were also to be expected.
“For years, they believed they were the digital soldiers led by General Flynn,” Donavan said. “For weeks, Flynn, Powell, and Wood were priming people for actions. When all legal options were exhausted, it became proof of their beliefs”
January 12, 2021: The Wall Street Journal reported: “YouTube Suspends President Trump’s Account” It was written by Georgia Wells.
Youtube suspended President Trump’s channel on Tuesday night, joining a growing list of companies that are ejecting him from their platforms.
The Alphabet Inc. video-sharing service said it was locking Mr. Trump’s channel for at least seven days after the company removed videos that it said violated its policies against content it believes could incite violence.
YouTube’s move follows similar decisions from Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. On Thursday, Facebook suspended Mr. Trump’s account indefinitely and on Friday, Twitter locked Mr. Trump’s personal account.
January 12, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Airbnb Cancels Reservations in Washington Area for Inaugural”
Airbnb said Wednesday that it will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C., area during the inauguration week, citing guidance from federal and local authorities over concerns about fresh violence following the Capitol riot last week.
Airbnb said guests whose reservations are canceled will be refunded in full, and the company will also reimburse hosts in full.
Airbnb also said that after a check of Airbnb users it has “identified numerous individuals who are either associated with known hate groups or otherwise involved in the criminal activity at the Capitol Building” and has banned them from Airbnb.
The governors of Maryland and Virginia recently issued a joint statement with D.C., mayor asking people to stay away from the inauguration on Jan. 20.
January 12, 2021: NBC News posted: “GOP lawmakers call on Trump to take action, call off the violence at the Capitol” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Multiple Republicans are calling on Trump to step in and call for an end to the violence that pro-Trump supporters engaged in at the Capitol on Wednesday.
“Mr. President, @realDonaldTrump the men & women of law enforcement are under assault. It is critical you help restore order by sending resources to assist the police and ask those doing this to stand down,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., tweeted, “We are witnessing absolute banana republic crap in the United States Capitol right now. @realDonaldTrump, you need to call this off.”
“I am appalled at what is occurring in the U.S. Capitol right now. President Trump needs to call for an end to this violence and permit Congress to facilitate a peaceful transition of power,” tweeted Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.
A number of other Republicans condemned the violence on Twitter, but did not call on the president to take action. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Trump of inciting it.
The tweets came after Trump called on protestors at a rally in downtown D.C. to march to the Capitol. Well after the violence and chaos erupted at the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. 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!
January 13, 2021: NBC News reported: “Federal officials with ATF uniforms are clearing the Capitol” It was written by Ginger Gibson.
Federal law enforcement officers are moving through the U.S. Capitol clearing out protestors.
Reporters barricaded in a workspace in the Captiol greeted the officers — who had uniforms from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — as a sign that the building may soon be safe.
A security system inside the Capitol alerted everyone to shelter in space. Police have continue to say that those inside are the safest waiting where they are.
“Thank you for what your doing,” the reporters who remained locked inside said.
January 13, 2021: NBC News reported: “Improvised explosive device found at Capitol” It was written by Pete Williams.
At least one improvised explosive device was found on the Capitol grounds, several law enforcement officials told NBC News.
The explosive device was found outside a building, the officials said.
“Along with our law enforcement partners, FBI Washington Field Office responded to report of suspicious devices. The investigation is ongoing,” a spokesperson said.
January 13 2021: NBC News posted: “Lawmakers sheltering in place cheer news that National Guard troops are on the way” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Members of both parties who were locked down in a secure location at the Capitol cheered when House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming announced that the National Guard was on its way, a House member in the room said.
“We will return to the floor and do our job,” the member said.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that he is sending members of the Virginia National Guard, along with 200 Virginia state troopers, to the Capitol.
GOP Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also announced that he was sending troopers to assist D.C. and Capitol police.
January 13, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted: “Biden Says He Hopes Senate Can Balance Impeachment Duties With Nation’s Business” It was written by Alex Leary.
President-elect Joe Biden did not take a clear stand on the House impeachment of President Trump but did ask the Senate to balance a potential trial with getting his nominations approved and moving an agenda that includes tackling the pandemic.
“Today, the members of the House of Representatives exercised the power granted to them under our Constitution and voted to impeach and hold the president accountable.” Mr. Biden wrote in a statement Wednesday night. “It was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience. The process continues to the Senate.”
He continued: “This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy. I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.”
Mr. Biden has so far declined to endorse his party’s calls for impeachment, though he again denounced last week’s mob assault on the Capitol. “This criminal attack was planned and coordinated,” his statement read. “It was carried out by political extremists and domestic terrorists, who were incited to this violence by President Trump.”
Addressing the problems facing the country, he said: “I have often said that there is nothing we can’t do, if we do it together. And it has never been more critical for us to stand together as a nation than right now.”
January 13, 2021: NBC News posted: ‘It’s not protest. It’s insurrection’: Biden condemns violent storming of the Capitol. It was written by Lauren Egan.
President-elect Joe Biden forcefully condemned the pro-Trump mob inciting violence and causing chaos Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
“The words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad it is,” Biden said, before calling on President Donald Trump to give a televised address and demand “an end to this siege” by his supporters.
“It’s not protest. It’s insurrection,” Biden said.
January 5, 2025: Politico reported: “Donald Trump is about to get the Jan. 6 that he denied Biden” It was written by Kyle Cheney.
The transfer of power to Donald Trump is shaping up to be, well, peaceful.
No mobs are assembling to disrupt Congress’ Jan. 6 counting of electoral votes. No Democratic leaders are questioning the results of the election or concocting elaborate theories to thwart the outcome. The greatest risk of obstruction seems likely to come from a storm system threatening to dump a few inches of snow on the region overnight.
If all goes well as expected, by late Monday afternoon, Trump’s victor will be certified in a ceremony overseen by his vanquished rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, who will preside over the proceedings in her capacity as the president of the Senate. Harris has been clear she will administer a straightforward transfer of power. In doing so, she’ll follow in the footsteps of all vice presidents before her — including Mike Pence, who resisted Trump’s pressure to refuse to count electors from states Trump lost in 2020.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries drew Republican applause when he acknowledged Trump’s win Friday during a speech on the House floor.
“It’s OK,” Jeffries said in a moment of gallows humor directed at his GOP colleagues. “There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle.”
It’s the utter antithesis of the carnage unleashed four years ago, under clear blue skies, by thousands of Trump supporters, goaded by lies about a stolen election. Hundreds of them bludgeoned police offers guarding the Capitol as the mob fought to stop Congress from counting the electoral votes that would make Joe Biden president.
The attack spawned the largest-ever federal criminal probe, led to a grave criminal case against Trump, spawned a failed legal effort to remove him from the ballot, and defined the political climate of the last two election cycles. Democrats declared Trump a threat to democracy and the president-elect wielded the cases to rally his base and claim political persecution.
The meeting of the House and Senate this time, by contrast, is expected to be almost jarringly routine. Harris will convene the joint session at 1 p.m. Lawmakers of both parties will announce the certified electors from each state, and Harris will affirm they have been counted.
Though members have an opportunity to object to any electors for potential legal or constitutional defects, no Democrats have signaled they will do so, a many have disclaimed such an effort. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who lodged a token objection to Trump’s electors in 2017, said he would not repeat the move this time — and said Democrats would prioritize “standing by the constitutional order.”
Monday’s joint session is also the first governed by a 2022 law designed to prevent efforts to corrupt the transfer of power and limit the ability of lawmakers to mount challenges to the results. That law lowers the already slim odds of any objections that could hamper the proceedings.
Still, the general atmosphere of calm in Washington belies a deep, simmering tension between those who watched the nation’s democratic institutions buckle on Jan. 6, 2021, and those who hope to whitewash it — especially as Trump attempts to rewrite the history of the attack on the Capitol and prepares to pardon many of it perpetrators. The Justice Department has charged more than 1,500 people for their involvement in the attack, and more than 1,200 have pleaded guilty or been convicted.
Judges in the federal district court in Washington are marking the four-year anniversary of the attack by advancing more cases to trial and sentencing, leaning into their work despite the pressure to pause cases to await Trump’s clemency decisions.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth — an outspoken defender of the court’s work on Jan. 6 cases — has timed the sentencing of one prominent defendant to coincide with Congress’ joint session. U.S. District Judge Tayna Chutkan, who was once slated to preside over Trump’s criminal trial for charges related to his effort to subvert the 2020 election, is holding a hearing to prepare for a Jan. 6 trial next week. And U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a hearing in a lawsuit brought by members of Congress and Capitol Police officers against Trump over his role in stoking the violence four years ago.
Across the city, advocates for Jan. 6 defendants are planning a press conference to push Trump for sweeping pardons, even for those convicted of the most extreme violence against police. It’s a flex of the unlikely political clout that the defendants have built over the last four years as Trump linked his own battle against the justice system to theirs.
Others are planning a walk for Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 rioter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she attempted to breach a room adjacent to the House Chamber.
Republican leaders in Congress have no plans to mark the anniversary of the attack and House leaders have spent recent days instead vowing to investigate the Jan. 6 select committee that probed Trump’s role in the attack two years ago. Speaker Mike Johnson and top lieutenants asked out when Biden award the panel’s leaders — Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and former GOP representative Liz Cheney — with prestigious Presidential Citizens medals. Trump, too, used the occasion to attack Cheney, a longtime political nemesis, and float her potential prosecution.
Amid it all are the Capitol Police, D.C. cops and Secret Service agents preparing to protect the Capitol on Monday and at Trump’s inaugurations two weeks later. Hundreds of them were at the Capitol four years earlier facing down the mob, wondering if they would get to go home that night.
Dozens have testified in trials of the Jan. 6 defendants who once opposed them, while describing under oath the chaos and fear they experienced — and often still live with.
“You ask these officers, ‘Do you have confidence today?’ said Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger at a Friday press conference. “I was at a roll call at 7 o’clock this morning and I was talking to officers. I asked for a show of hands. “How many of you were here four years ago?’ About half of them raised their hand. The others have came here knowing exactly what they were getting into. And they’re here because they want to be, and if you ask most of them they were here because of Jan. 6. These are the officers that want to be on the front lines of what is happening here.”
“I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward,” Biden said, adding that “the words of a president matter.”
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal reported: “Pence Says Americans Deserve Safe Biden Inauguration as FBI Warns of ‘Potential Armed Protests’ It was written by Nancy A. Youssef.
Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the American people “deserve” a smooth transfer of power, in remarks to leaders of some of the agencies in charge of security for the Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington.
“We are going to ensure that we have a safe inauguration, that President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are sworn in as the president and vice president of the United States in a manner that is consistent with our history, with our traditions, in a way the gives honor to the American people and to the United States,” Mr. Pence said at a security briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
At the same meeting, leaders from other agencies involved in the security through Wednesday provided some details about their plans.
Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, said there are currently 7,000 National Guardsmen in Washington and that figure would eventually reach 21,000.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray warned of “potential armed protests” leading up to the inauguration, based in part, he said, on “an extensive amount of concerning online chatter.”
Mr. Wray also said that his agency had identified over 200 suspects from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“We know who you are,” Mr. Wray said. “And FBI agents are coming to find you.”
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger evacuated from state Capitol Building” It was written by Phil McCauseland.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was escorted out of the state Capitol building Wednesday in Atlanta, his office confirmed. About 150 protesters gathered outside the building, which remained largely empty.
The Legislature is not in session, and much of legislators’ work is being done from home because of the pandemic.
Raffensberger spoke with President Donald Trump on Saturday, during which Trump pressed him to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the results of the presidential election in the state. Raffensperger said Monday that he never thought it appropriate to speak to Trump about the results.
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “Trump tells mob at Capitol ‘we love you’ but ‘go home’. It was written by Doha Madani.
President Donald Trump issued a short video to his Twitter account Wednesday urging his supporters to “go home” after a mob bypassed police to enter the Capitol building.
Trump continued to falsely assert that he won the presidential election by a “landslide” but told his supporters that they must leave. He also reiterated his baseless allegation that the election was “stolen.”
He then told his supporters that they are “very special” and that he loved them.
“It was a landslide election, everyone knows it … but you have to go home now,” Trump said. “We have to have peace, we have to have law and order, and we have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anyone hurt.”
Trump spoke to a large crowd of his supporters in front of the White House earlier Wednesday before the beginning of a joint session of Congress to count Electoral College votes, where he encouraged his followers to go to the Capitol. Trump also suggested that he would go himself.
Twitter added a flag to Trump’s tweet saying that it cannot be retweeted, liked, or replied to “due to a risk of violence.”
The video was posted just moments after President-elect Joe Biden urged Trump to “step up” and called for chaos unfolding at the Capitol an “insurrection.”
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “Twitter limits engagement on Trump tweets; YouTube, Facebook remove video. It was written by Ben Collins.
Twitter took the extraordinary step Wednesday of prohibiting one of President Donald Trump’s tweets from being retweeted or replied to after he posted a video pushing conspiracy theories about election fraud while some of his supporters took over the U.S. Capitol.
The tweet included a video in which Trump reiterated evidence-free claims that the election was “stolen” but also called for his supporters to “go home now.”
Twitter turned off retweets and replies to the tweet.
“In regard to the ongoing situation in Washington, D.C., we are working proactively to protect the heath of the public conversation occurring on the service and will take action on any content that violates the Twitter Rules,” Twitter’s Safety team said in a statement.
“Threats of and calls to violence are against the Twitter Rules, and we are enforcing our policies accordingly,” the safety team said. “In addition, we have been significantly restricting engagement with Tweets labeled under our Civic Integrity Police due to the risk of violence. This means these labeled Tweets will not be able to be replied to, Retweeted, or liked.”
The same video was removed from YouTube early Wednesday night. The company said in a statement that the video violated “policies regarding content that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome.” Facebook also took it down.
The video was tweeted at 4:17 p.m., about three hours after Trump told his supporters to march on the Capitol. The Capitol building was eventually evacuated after protesters stormed the building, some taking pictures from the dais and Senate offices.
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “Demonstrators who stormed U.S. Capitol face potential federal charges” It was written by Ari Melber and Diana Marinaccio.
Demonstrators who stormed the U.S. Capitol amid pro-Trump protests could face a potential legal exposure to federal crimes. Here is an explainer of possible charges.
Trespassing: A federal petty misdemeanor that applies to persons who enter or remain in any building they are not licensed to enter.
Entering a restricted government building: This misdemeanor applies to anyone who knowingly enters a restricted government building or engages in disorderly conduct near a restricted government building that impedes government business.
Entering a restricted government building with a weapon or causing injury: This is a felony that applies to persons who violate the above misdemeanor and do so either with a firearm or deadly weapon or with further action that results in serious bodily harm.
Physical damage to government property: A misdemeanor if someone damages government property up to $1,000 and a felony for over $1,000.
Misdemeanors carry fines and up to a year in prison. The felony counts listed carry maximum prison terms of 10 years.
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “Sen. Jeff Merkley says staffers saved Electoral College ballots from being ‘burned by the mob” It was written by Rebecca Shabad.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., tweeted Wednesday evening that Electoral College ballots were rescued from the Senate floor before protestors were able to get to them.
“If our capable floor staff hadn’t grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob,” he tweeted.
January 14, 2021: NBC News reported: “GOP-allied business groups joins calls for Pence to consider invoking 25th Amendment” It was written by Ben Kamisar.
The head of the National Association of Manufacturers has called on Vice President Mike Pence to consider removing President Donald Trump from officer for inciting the rioting seen inside the Capitol on Wednesday.
Jay Timmons, the association’s president and CEO, blasted the “armed violent protestors who support the baseless claim by outgoing president Trump that he somehow won an election that he overwhelmingly lost.”
Timmons is a former high-level Republican congressional aide who led the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2004.
“Throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has enflamed violent anger. This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such,” Timmons said in a statement released by the association.
“The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. Anyone indulging conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars is complicit. Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.”
Under the 25th Amendment, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare that the president is “unable to discharge his powers and the duties of his officers,” which would lead to the vice president replacing him. This scenario is unlikely.
The association represents the manufacturing sector’s interests in Washington, billing itself as the largest manufacturing association. Some of the group’s leaders also have close ties to the GOP, having previously worked for Republican members or causes.
