Clear? All Clear?

4:24 PM:

Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBC News tweets a video from inside the Cannon House Office Building—“fbi SWAT team in Capitol complex”—she shows a 12-man armed tactical team in military fatigues with FBI markings.

At 4:35 PM, Mike Balsamo of the AP responds: “An FBI spokeswoman said agents were being deployed to “assist our U.S. Capitol Police partners as requested in protection of federal property and public safety.”

4:24 PM:

U.S. Marshals Service, an element of the Department of Justice, tweets: “The U.S. Marshals Service is joining with other law enforcement agencies in supporting the U.S. Capitol Police during operations in Washington, D.C.”

4:30 PM:

Julian E. Barnes and Mark Mazzetti later write in The New York Times: “A column of F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security agents in riot gear entered the Dirksen Senate Office Building around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and officers from Washington’s police force headed to the Capitol in a show of force to end violent protests, looting and vandalism.”

“The F.B.I. has been deployed to assist our U.S. Capitol Police partners, as requested, in protection of federal property and public safety,” the FBI said.

4:32 PM:

Acting Secretary Christopher Miller provides verbal authorization for a change in mission for the D.C. National Guard so that they can conduct perimeter and “clearance operations” in support of the USCP, not just the D.C. Police. He directs Secretary of the Army Ryan Mccarthy to “provide public notification of support.”

4:33 PM:

Townhall.com reporter Julio Rosas tweets a video from outside the Capitol, showing tear gas being used as protestors use a now-stolen police barricade to try to break through another door: “Rioter uses a metal barricade to try to break open a Capitol building door.”

4:36 PM:

CNN Decision Desk projects that Jon Ossoff will win the Senate runoff in Georgia, giving Democrats control of the Senate.

4:40 PM:

President Trump, in a video message posted on Twitter, tells supporters to “go home.” Trump says “I know your pain. I know your hurt. But you have to go home now.” He also went on to call the supporters “very special.” He also said, “we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So, go home. We love you. You’re very special.”

4:40 PM:

Secretary of the Army Mccarthy

first speaks with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. According to the Army: “He thanked him and accepted his offer. Secretary Mccarthy assured him his service members will be taken care of and provided a point-to-point contact.”

Hogan later told The Washington Post that he got approval 90 minutes after deployment was turned down when Secretary Mccarthy called him. Maryland forces are approved to arrive in D.C. on January 7.

4:42 PM:

Will Sommer of the Daily Beast tweets: “So many reporters covering the protest today were able to find plenty of evidence, in advance, that some Trump protesters planned to flood the Capitol. Incredible that police, who have far more capabilities than we do, weren’t better prepared.”

4:44 PM:

William Turton of Bloomberg News tweets a video from the north side of the Capitol: “Protestors being pushed back. North side of the capitol. Police are using flash bangs.”

Kristin Wilson of CNN tweets a video of police inside the Capitol: “USCP guarding broken Capitol windows keeping protestors from getting in. Smoke grenades and smell of gunpowder in the hallways.”

4:46 PM:

Rebecca Tan of The Washington Post tweets a video: “Law enforcement regaining some semblance of control here. They’ve pushed back the mob away from the north side of the Capitol, eliciting calls of “traitor! traitor!” One woman’s yelling “f*ck the blue!”

4:46 PM:

Steven Nelson of the New York Post tweets: “...I passed hundreds of law enforcement officers streaming into Capitol via subway tunnel. FBI, DHS police and Fairfax county (Va.) among those arriving now.”

4:52 PM:

Former Trump White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah tweets: “Dear MAGA—I am one of you. Before I worked for @realdonaldtrump, I worked for @Markmeadows & @Jim_jordan & the @freedomcaucus. I marched in the 2010 Tea Party rallies. I campaigned w/ Trump & voted for him. But I need you to hear me: the Election was NOT stolen. We lost.”

“There were cases of fraud that should be investigated. But the legitimate margins of victory for Biden are far too wide to change the outcome. You need to know that. I’m proud of many policy accomplishments the Trump Admin had. But we must accept these results.”

“It’s time to regroup, organize, & campaign for political leaders we believe in, and let our democracy work. It is NOT and NEVER will be a time for violence. If you believe in America first, you believe in our Constitution, the rule of law, & our first principles.”

4:54 PM:

A photo of a man carrying a Confederate flag inside the Capitol is tweeted by Mike Theiler of Reuters.

4:54 PM:

D.C. National Guard (DCNG) tweets: “The DCNG has been mobilized to provide support to fed law enforcement in the District. Acting Secdef Christopher Miller has been in contact w/ Congressional leadership, and @Secarmy has been working with the D.C. government. Law enforcement response will be led by @Thejusticedept.”

4:56 PM:

Krysta Louise of the AP tweets: “DC police chief says protesters deployed ‘chemical irritants on police’ to gain access to US Capitol.”

4:56 PM:

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tweets: “Electoral college ballots rescued from the Senate floor. If our capable floor staff hadn’t grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob.”

4:58 PM:

Rachel Chason of The Washington Post tweets a video: “Police now here in much larger numbers, pushing rioters away from the doors.”

“Traitors, traitors,” rioters are chanting as police try to protect the US Capitol. “Fuck the blue,” a woman just yelled ...”

4:58 PM:

Townhall.com reporter Rosas tweets a video from outside the front of the Capitol: “Rioters just mobbed [news media] camera crews and destroyed their equipment.”

5:00 PM:

Emily Davies of The Washington Post tweets: “...It’s now just after 5pm and the Capitol is much quieter. Police in riot gear are positioned at the North side of the Capitol. Most demonstrators have cleared the area.”

5:00 PM:

Ali Zaslav of CNN tweets: “Seeing lots of FBI SWAT roaming the Capitol.”

5:00 PM:

CNN reports: “As US Marshals, ATF, and US Park Police joined the efforts to secure the Capitol, the Department of Defense recognized the need for a solid perimeter and put in a request for secure fences from the Department of Homeland Security. The 7-foot fences, made to be impossible to scale, had to be brought in from Maryland. By Thursday afternoon, 95% of the fence was complete.”

5:01 PM:

President pro tempore Chuck Grassley tweets: “Today’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attack on American democracy itself. I condemn today’s violence in the strongest terms & perpetrators deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I also thank Capitol Police for protecting our Capitol & staff.”

5:02 PM:

The first of 154 D.C. National Guard leave the D.C. Armory to support USCP. The Pentagon says: “They are armed to operate in support of reestablishing control of the Capitol.”

5:03 PM:

Harrison Smith of The Washington Post tweets: “... still hundreds of people on the west side of the Capitol, where a few men with military-style helmets and camo seem set on turning barricades into a fortress for “patriots.”

5:07 PM:

Jazmine Ulloa of The Boston Globe tweets: “We’re still in a secret location inside the Capitol. No word yet on when we’ll be allowed to leave ...doesn’t seem like anytime soon...”

Grace Segers of CBS News writes: “Shortly before 5 p.m., Capitol staffers wheeled in trays of food and drink for lawmakers and the reporters sitting in the anteroom outside of where the senators were gathered. I sat on the floor, charged my phone, and wondered what would happen next.

At one point, Senator Ted Cruz emerged from the room filled with senators. A reporter asked him if he felt any responsibility for the day’s events, making reference to his support for objecting to the Electoral College results. Cruz did not answer, but turned and walked back into the room.”

5:11 PM:

Kamala Harris tweets: “I join President-elect @Joebiden in calling for the assault on the Capitol and our nation’s public servants to end, and as he said, “allow the work of democracy to go forward.”

5:14 PM:

Zaslav of CNN tweets: “Sen. Joe Manchin [D-WV] says he hopes that Congress can get the Electoral College certification done tonight. “We’ll stay whatever it takes..these thugs aren’t running us off.”

He said the mood is “ok” in the undisclosed location where all the senators are being held...“a lot of prayers.”

5:18 PM:

Smith of The Washington Post tweets from the west side of the Capitol: “Police have forced most of the crowd from bleachers with flash bangs and gas. It’s stopped for now. Folks seem to be reassembling. Chanting: ‘Traitors.’”

5:22 PM:

Acting Secretary of Defense Miller makes a statement on full activation of the D.C. National Guard and the change in mission from indirectly supporting the

D.C. police to direct support at the Capitol:

“Chairman Milley and I just spoke separately with the Vice President and with Speaker Pelosi, Leader Mcconnell, Senator Schumer and Representative Hoyer about the situation...we have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation. We are prepared to provide additional support as necessary and appropriate as requested by local authorities. Our people are sworn to defend the constitution and our democratic form of government and they will act accordingly.”

5:28 PM:

Turton of Bloomberg News tweets a photo of a vandalized police SUV outside the Capitol building.

5:29 PM:

Jonathan Martin of The New York Times tweets: “‘This is a nation which has been a model for the world in terms of democracy and we have a president who is encouraging an insurrection against the democracy which he took an oath of office to defend,’ @Berniesanders tells me, calling it ‘a tragic day’ for America.”

5:30 PM:

Sarah D. Wire of The Los Angeles Times later writes: “Just after 5:30 p.m., the sergeant at arms, the House’s top security official, announced the Capitol had been secured but urged members to stay in place. He wanted a bit more time, he said, to guarantee their safety.”

The Pentagon later says that the U.S. Capitol Police declared the Capitol Building “secure” at 8:00 PM. 5:31 PM:

Perry Stein of The Washington

Post tweets a video showing protestors backing up from the Capitol: “Police are now pushing protesters back, moving them away from Capitol. Sending off loud smoke grenades. People responded, “this is our house” and “we’re gonna hunt antifa tonight”

5:32 PM:

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam tweets that he is declaring a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in Arlington and Alexandria. He also says he is issuing a State of Emergency in Virginia.

5:36 PM:

Marissa J. Lang of The Washington Post tweets: “Federal police pushing protesters back with batons & stun grenades chanting, “move back!” Some officers are flinging folding chairs left on the Capitol grounds as protesters retreat. The crowd is calling the cops traitors and yelling about curfew: “it’s only 5:30,” a lady yelled.”

5:36 PM:

Drew Hernandez of the Tatum Report tweets: “... Many rumors going around saying Antifa possibly infiltrated in MAGA gear to spark this today. I cannot confirm nor deny that at the time of this tweet.”

5:40 PM:

The first D.C. National Guard soldiers arrive at the Capitol and are sworn in as law enforcement officers by the USCP.

At 6:26 PM,

CSPAN shows D.C. National Guard troops in formation next to a bus on First Street in front of the Supreme Court and marching (slowly) towards the Capitol building.

5:41 PM:

Stein of The Washington Post tweets: “Police have cleared protesters hundreds of feet away from Capitol ahead of curfew...“they would never do this to BLM” said a woman.”

At 5:42 PM,

Turton of Bloomberg News tweets from the front of the Capitol: “Police starting to close down the capitol” showing that protestors have been pushed away from the building.

5:45 PM:

USCP announces that the woman shot inside the Capitol building has died.

5:45 PM:

Acting Secretary Miller signs a formal order authorizing out-of-state National Guard forces to muster in support of Capitol security. The includes mobilization of up to 6,200 National Guardsmen from Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.”

5:46 PM:

Tan of The Washington Post tweets: “With 15 mins to curfew, the vast majority of rioters have left the Capitol. The few still here are taunting news crews. Police re establishing barricdes [sic].”

5:46 PM:

Townhall.com reporter Rosas tweets a video from outside the west side of the Capitol: “Police are clearing the Capitol grounds as the crowd has gotten much smaller here.”

5:46 PM:

Elijah Schaffer of The Blaze tweets and posts a video of what appears to be blood on the floor of the Capitol building, but is, in fact, blood outside on the west side from earlier: “lots of blood was spilled today by both the Capitol police & occupiers. Very serious injuries occurred, including a shooting. Many officers injured, some appeared to be hurt very badly as Trump supporters were throwing projectiles & in some cases violently assaulting them.”

5:49 PM:

Lang of The Washington Post tweets a video from the darkness in front of the Capitol, as the sun has gone down: “...plenty of folks are still milling around on the sidewalk outside the Capitol. Fifteen minutes till curfew.”

5:49 PM:

Burgess Everett of Politico tweets: “In Capitol complex, announcement says anyone that doesn’t leave by 6 p.m. will be arrested.”

5:49 PM:

Schaffer of The Blaze tweets: “... officers were very aggressive and violent with the occupiers. It was very intense.”

5:50 PM:

Davies of The Washington Post tweets: “To be clear, there are still scuffles unfolding across the city. Police are reinstalling barricades around the Capitol. 10 minutes to curfew.”

5:53 PM:

Turton of Bloomberg News tweets a quote from a USCP officer: “We were just not prepared. They got through four levels of our security.”

5:54 PM:

Everett of Politico tweets: “Senators holding a closed door meeting now.”

5:56 PM:

Nelson of the New York Post tweets: “A PSA from @Mayorbowser was broadcast just now on Capitol Hill: leave or experience arrest.”

5:57 PM:

Stein of The Washington Post tweets: “Andddd three minutes before curfew, people are blasting ‘All you need is love’ by The Beatles”

5:58 PM:

Turton of Bloomberg News tweets a video, now in the dark, of unmarked buses arriving at the Capitol: “Five buses of law enforcement officers, some in riot gear, just drove into the Capitol.”