Death of Capitol police officer heightens concerns over Trump’s last days in office
The death of a police officer from injuries sustained as President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capi tol i n Washington i s f orcing hard questions about the defeated president's remaining days in office and the abili t y of t he Capitol Police t o secure the area.
Demo c r a t s a r e d i s c u s s - ing whether to act quickly to impeach President Trump as soon as next week if his Cabinet does not first try to remove him after he encouraged loyalists who ransacked the Capitol in a siege that has left five people dead.
If Mr Trump, whose term ends on January 20, were to be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, he could be prevented from running again in 2024 or ever holding the presidency again.
D e mo c r a t s we r e me e t - ing last night and could take up articles of impeachment against Mr Trump as early as the week ahead.
Three House Democrats are planning to introduce articles of impeachment on Monday, meaning the chamber could potentially vote on his removal from office by midweek, according two people familiar with the planning.
The US Capitol Police earlier said that Officer Brian Sicknick was injured "while physically engaging with protesters" during the Wednesday riot.
He is the fifth person to die because of the melee.
During the melee, Mr Sicknick was hit in the head with
a fire extinguisher, t wo law enforcement officials said. He had returned to his division office after the incident and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he died on Thursday.
T h e r a mp a g e t h a t h a s shocked the world and left the country on edge forced the resignations of three top Capitol security officials over the failure to stop the breach.
It led politicians to demand a review of operations and an FBI briefing over what they called a "terrorist attack".
Meanwhile, a family member of a woman who died from a medical emergency during the Washington riot has issued a statement blaming Trump for her death.
“Rosanne was really passionate about her beliefs like a lot of people,” said Rosanne Boy
land's brother- in- law, Justin Cave.
“I’ve never tried to be a political person but it’s my own personal belief that the president’s words incited a riot that killed four of his biggest fans last night.
"And I believe that we should invoke the 25th amendment at this time.”
Protesters were urged by Mr Trump during a rally near
the White House earlier on Wednesday to head to Capi tol Hill, where politicians were scheduled to confirm Joe Biden's presidential victor y. The mob swiftly broke t h r o u g h p o l i c e b a r r i e r s , smashed windows and paraded through the halls, sending politicians into hiding.
One protester, a white woman, was shot to death by Capitol Police, and there were doz
ens of arrests. Three other people, including Ms Boyland, died after "medical emergencies" related to the breach.
Despite Mr Trump's repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney- general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome.