ANARCHY IN THE U.S.
Terrifying scenes as baying Trump mob storms Capitol
DONALD Trump backers stormed the Capitol in Washington last night after he urged them to ‘take back our country’.
Armed stand-offs ensued, tear gas was fired in the Capitol and the Secret Service had to rush Vice-President Mike Pence out through an underground tunnel.
One woman was shot in the Capitol, police said. She was said to be fighting for her life last night.
the President’s daughter, ivanka, called the armed rioters ‘patriots’ before deleting her tweet. As protesters remained on the prowl, Presidentelect Joe Biden addressed the nation, saying: ‘Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.
‘this is not dissent. it’s disorder. it’s chaos. it borders on sedition. And it must end now. this is not protest, this is insurrection.’
Boris Johnson tweeted a plea for ‘a peaceful and orderly transfer of power’ as he condemned ‘disgraceful
scenes’, but he failed to mention Mr Trump.
An unrepentant Mr Trump released a minute- l ong taped address that started with more claims that the election had been stolen from him.
He told the rioters: ‘We love you, you are very special... I know your pain, I know you’re hurt.
‘We had an election that was stolen from us – it was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side.
‘But you have to go home now. We have to have peace, we have to have law and order.’
Former New York City mayor
Rudy Giuliani, who led Mr Trump’s legal efforts to overturn his defeat in election, said the protesters were ‘on the right side of the law and history’.
It took more than two hours for the Trump administration to sanction the use of the National Guard. Late l ast night, 1,100 armed guardsmen were sent in to restore calm and order.
As the Senate and House of Representatives gathered to ratify the election votes in the Capitol earlier i n the afternoon – usually a straightforward process – Mr Trump held a rally outside the White House and whipped his fans into a frenzy.
After an hour making unsubstantiated claims about rigged elections, the President urged the crowd to march on the Capitol.
‘We’re going to try and give our Republicans – the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help – the kind of pride and boldness that they need to
take back our country,’ he told the angry throng before sending them on their way.
Within minutes, they had smashed through four lines of security, pushing past Capitol police and barricades before storming the building.
The two chambers were locked down, with doors barricaded and guns drawn by guards inside.
Terrified politicians were told to grab gas masks from under their seats as tear gas was fired in the corridors.
One Trump supporter made it into the House of Representatives chamber and climbed up on the dais. He raised his arm i nto the air and shouted: ‘Trump won that election!’
Haley Stevens, a politician from Michigan, tweeted: ‘I’m sheltering in place in my office. I can’t believe I have to write this’.
Colleague Elaine Luria said: ‘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.
‘I don’t recognise our country today and the members of Congress who have supported this anarchy do not deserve to represent their fellow Americans’.
Mike Gallagher, a Republican, told CNN: ‘This is insane. I haven’t seen anything like this since I deployed to Iraq in 2008.
‘This is America – the President needs to call it off. Call it off. It’s over. The election’s over.’
Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, tweeted: ‘This is a coup attempt’ while Mitt Romney, a longstanding Trump critic, said: ‘This is what the president has caused today,
this insurrection.’ Armed FBI teams were last night walking the corridors of the building, looking for any remaining protesters.
Historian Michael Beschloss called it a ‘terrorist attack against US Congress... incited by the President’.
Some experts said it was the most significant breach of a US government institution since August 1814, when British troops set fire to the Capitol.
Condemnation of Mr Trump in Britain was swift. Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘America is the world’s biggest, most important democracy, a shining light on the hill for freedom. President Trump told a crowd to march on Capitol Hill and turned on his vice-president for upholding the law.
‘He shames American democracy tonight.’
Fellow Tory George Freeman added: ‘It’s actually happening. After months of incitement by Donald Trump, a mob of Trump supporters storm the Capitol building.’
And Tom Tugendhat, Tory chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said: The US Republic has inspired millions. Not today. Today many will watch the screens fearful of the power of demagogues who claim to speak for the powerless but tear apart the laws that constrain the strong and protect the weak. The actions of Donald Trump threaten us all.’
Lisa Nandy, Labour’s foreign spokesman, said: ‘Terrible scenes from the USA. This is the legacy of a politics of hate that pits people against each other.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added: ‘These are not “protesters” – this a direct attack on democracy.’