On January 6, facing little resistance from law enforcement, radical followers of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. A U.S. Capitol police officer died from injuries sustained in the attack; four others died as well. The crowd descended on the Capitol, urged on by Trump and other speakers, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Guiliani, the president’s lawyer, who told the Trump crowd: “Let’s have a trial by combat.” Trump and his supporters, estimated in the thousands, had gathered to dispute the results of the November 3 election, which they claim, without evidence, was stolen. Here is the day in pictures.
GATHERING STORM
President Trump’s supporters rally outside the Capitol building as Congress was in the process of signing off on President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ electoral victory.
"STOP THE STEAL" President Trump, with only two weeks before the end of his term, urged his supporters to march on the Capitol building to protest the election victory. “We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about,” Trump said.
OCCUPIERS Clockwise from top: Trump rioters poured onto the steps and balcony of the Capitol building; Richard Barnett of Arkansas sits inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi; a lone MAGA supporter, and fan of the Confederacy, wanders in the halls of Congress.
TAKING COVER
Right: Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and other members of Congress are escorted out of the House chamber. Below: Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger, comforts Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA). “I thought I would have to fight my way out,” one member of Congress told The Washington Post.
READY FOR WAR
Agitators clash with police and other security forces as they storm the U.S. Capitol shortly after remarks from speakers including President Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
FALLOUT Clockwise from top left: A MAGA demonstrator is treated for injuries after clashing with law enforcement; a rioter is detained; and police officers recover after apparently suffering from the effects of tear gas and/or pepper spray.
TAKING CONTROL
Above: A Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT team patrols the Longworth House Office Building shortly after the U.S. Capitol was placed on lockdown after rioters disrupted the joint session of Congress. Right: Members of the National Guard form a line and keep a small group of Donald Trump supporters away from the U.S. Capitol.