Protesters Break Into US Capitol as Congress Counts Electoral College Votes: ‘We Are Under Siege’

As Congress convened Wednesday to begin tallying electoral college votes in the final step of certifying President-elect Joe Biden‘s win, protesters objecting to the certification breached the U.S. Capitol. As the large group of protesters pushed through fencing and breached the building, the Capitol was shut down.

According to CNN, as protesters breached the Capitol, the House doors were locked and 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.” The outlet also reported that Capitol police were blocking anyone from moving from Senate office buildings into the US Capitol building. Video of the moment showed protesters banging on doors as they attempted to enter the building. A second video showed several protesters inside the building.

Ahead of Wednesday’s count, President Donald Trump, who campaigned on “law and order,” had encouraged election protests in a mid-December tweet, writing, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” On Wednesday, hundreds of his supporters seemed to heed that call, gathering in the capitol. Addressing the crowd, Trump had doubled down on his unfounded claims of voter fraud, stating, “this year, they rigged an election. They rigged it like they’ve never rigged an election before.” He added, “we will never concede. You don’t concede when there’s theft.”

Following his remarks, pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the US Capitol Building and tussled with officers in riot gear. According to NBC News, as the events unfolded, the Library of Congress, located directly across the street from the main Capitol building, was evacuated. The Republican National Committee headquarters, meanwhile, was evacuated earlier Wednesday due to a suspicious package.

Ahead of the protests, The Hill reported more than 300 National Guard personnel had been activated in D.C. to support the city government. The Guardsmen were activated following a request by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Christopher Rodriguez, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, on behalf of the District’s Metropolitan Police Department and Fire and Emergency Services.

The president has since tweeted, “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country” and encouraged demonstrators to “remain peaceful.”