Capitol on Lockdown: Donald Trump Says ‘Stay Peaceful’ to Protesters Storming the Building

Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Capitol went into lockdown after a large group of protesters pushed through the fencing and broke into the building while protesting the outcome of the election. They fought federal police and prompted a response from President Donald Trump. He called for them to stay peaceful in a tweet.

“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. He echoed a similar message delivered by Donald Trump Jr., who wrote: “This is wrong and not who we are. Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and this doesn’t help anyone.”

According to CNN, the House doors were locked as the protesters breached the building. One video surfaced on Twitter that showed them banging on doors and attempting to enter the building. Another showed several protesters inside the building. An emergency alert from the Capitol police went out reading, “Due to an INTERNAL threat in the building, take shelter in the nearest office and stay quiet.”

While Trump and others tweeted about the situation and called for the protesters to remain peaceful, reports surfaced of gunshots at the Capitol. HuffPost reporter Matt Fuller said that he overheard an officer state there were “shots fired” as officials attempted to block the chamber’s doors. He shared a video that showed several officers standing by one door with guns drawn.

Fuller later clarified that he “can’t swear” that there were gunshots. He said that he saw the glass blow out of the chamber’s front door. He also heard an officer say, “shots fired.” Fuller said that everything is unconfirmed at the moment.

Amid the protests and break-in, authorities began evacuating several buildings. They reportedly began evacuating the Library of Congress’ Madison Building, across from the Capitol and the Cannon House office building. Additionally, The Hill reported that the police told one reporter, “If you want to go between the buildings, use the tunnels.”

Following the reports of shots fired, photos surfaced of emergency services performing CPR on a woman being wheeled away from the Capitol. Reporters said that she was bleeding heavily. Noah Gray of CNN reported that a woman was in critical condition after being shot in the chest on the Capital grounds. No other details were provided at the time.