Shortly before 4 a.m., after numerous objections from Republicans asserting baseless allegations of voter fraud and the ransacking of the Capitol by a mob of Trump-supporting insurrectionists, Congress certified the results of the 2020 presidential election, officially ratifying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice-President of the United States.
Both the Senate and the House resumed the certification process shortly after 8 p.m., after getting the all-clear from the Sergeant-at-Arms that it was safe to return to their chambers, which they had hastily vacated some six hours early after rioters stormed the Capitol (see below). Picking up where they left off, the Senate and House resumed debate over objections to the vote count in Arizona, which Biden won by a narrow margin of roughly 11,000 votes.
There were calls for unity and condemnations of violence from both sides of the aisle. Senate Democrats applauded Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who said in a speech, "The best way we could show respect for the voters who were upset is by telling them the truth. That’s the burden. That’s the duty of leadership.” Senators James Lankford, Kelly Loeffler, Mike Braun, and Steve Daines withdrew their objections to the results of the election, and the Senate rejected the objection raised against Arizona’s electoral votes, 93-6. The House also rejected the objection, 303-to-121, after similar exchange of pieties.
After Congress reconvened in joint session around midnight to continue counting the electoral votes, Republican representatives continued to object, but without the necessary support of a Senator that would force a two-hour long debate and vote -- until Pennsylvania, when Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri joined 80 Republican representatives in an objection that forced a debate in the House that dragged past 3 a.m. The NY Times reports that "a scuffle almost broke out on the chamber floor after Representative Conor Lamb, Democrat of Pennsylvania, delivered a particularly fiery speech in condemnation of the Republican objections." (Video.)
“That attack today, it didn’t materialize out of nowhere,” Lamb said in his speech, as Republicans tried to shout him down. “It was inspired by lies, the same lies you’re hearing in this room tonight, and the members who are repeating those lies should be ashamed of themselves.”
In the end, as expected, the House and the Senate both voted to reject the objection, with a vote of 282 to 138 in the House and 92 to 7 in the Senate.
Both sides reconvened in joint session for a final time after 3 a.m. With no further objections sustained, Congress completed the counting of the remaining states and ratified Biden’s victory at 3:45 a.m., over 20 hours after the proceedings began.
In a statement issued through a surrogate because Twitter had blocked his account, President Trump continued to lie about losing the election, stating, “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th."
8:30 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed he will be dispatching 1,000 members of the New York National Guard to Washington D.C.
In a statement, Cuomo said the troops can remain in the nation's capital for up to two weeks.
"A peaceful transition of power is the cornerstone of our democracy & NY stands ready to help ensure the will of the American people is safely carried out," Cuomo tweeted.
While members of the U.S. Senate have convened to certify the election, newly-minted GOP Representative Andrew Garbarino of Long Island said he will vote to certify the results of the presidential election despite his belief that some states, including New York, improperly changed election law.
In a phone interview Wednesday evening, Garbarino said he understood the argument some Republicans have put forth that the changes to election law were “unconstitutional” but he wasn’t convinced enough to object to the election results.
“This is our responsibility to go through this process. So the process has to continue. We can’t stop the process,” he said. “You know, the government must go on.”
Garbarino, who spent the day sheltering in place with his staff in his office in the Longworth House Office Building across the street from the Capitol, said he expects the House of Representatives to reconvene imminently and continue the certification process.
“I just don’t know what the objectors have planned, if they will continue to plan to do all their objections or if they are reconsidering what they’re doing,” he said.
Fellow Long Island Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin, a close Trump ally, has announced he will continue to object to the result.
Garbarino said he opposed the violence of the pro-Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol Wednesday, comparing the mob to the mostly peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in the summer. He called the majority of the people at the Stop The Steal rally “peaceful.”
When asked if he still supports Trump after the events of the day, Garbarino said, “I wish his statements today about having people go home and stay peaceful were quicker than he came in or been a little stronger. I wish he would have done that much sooner than what happened. I think a lot of this might not have happened if he came out right away and said go home.”
“I think he could have been stronger in his message for people to go home,” Garbarino added. “Because they’re still here.”
UPDATE 8 p.m.: Just over an hour before members of Congress headed back to the Capitol, Twitter locked President Trump's account for posting three Tweets they found to encourage violence.
Twitter said the tweets could "risk violence." They added that Trump's account, which has 88 million followers, could be suspended if he does not remove the tweets.
The tense moments in the Capitol Building sent members of Congress in hiding for hours. Queens Rep. Grace Meng Tweeted that she was "terrified for her life." She later emerged from hiding unscathed and posted how she barricaded herself for hours, hearing trespassers in Capitol Hill chant, "USA, USA."
Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan blamed President Trump for inciting violence against another branch of government. “He is a threat to our democracy, an embarrassment,” Maloney told Gothamist/WNYC.
She was in her office when pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol watching the session over an interconnected TV, since just 11 members are permitted to be on the House floor due to COVID. She saw members start to leave the chambers, blocking doors with furniture, until the entire campus went into lockdown.
“It’s very shaking,” Maloney said. “I never dreamed that I would have to respond to security drill and be locked down. We had practices after 9/11, but I never thought we would need our protective gear. I have my protective gear out in case we need it.”
Representatives returned to session at 8 p.m. to finish certifying the votes. Maloney added: “I think the best way we can honor our democracy is to go back into the House, conduct our debates, vote, and pass the votes for the Electoral College in support of Joe Biden for President.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the New Jersey Democrat from Bergen County who has worked closely with Republicans, spoke to WNYC as he waited a return to the floor this evening.
"Running off the floor of the House with a gas mask in my hand because an angry mob was outside trying to break down the door—I heard shots fired. I think it was likely tear gas, windows being shattered," Gottheimer said. "And this is the Capitol, you know, and, and I couldn't believe the assault on our democracy as we attempted a peaceful transition of power. I think I'm still, frankly, just in shock, and it's a wave of sadness."
UPDATE 6:36 p.m.: The woman who was shot at the U.S. Capitol as the mob stormed the building has died, the Associated Press has confirmed.
Graphic video posted to Twitter earlier today showed a woman cloaked in a Trump flag falling to the ground after a loud gunshot is heard. MSNBC later aired footage of her being taken out of the Capitol on a stretcher.
The woman's identity has not been disclosed, and authorities have not said who shot the woman.
WUSA9 interviewed a man who said that the woman was shot by police after ignoring commands from law enforcement.
"She didn't heed the call, and as we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck," said the man, who said he traveled from New Jersey and was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol.
Shortly after news of the woman's death began circulating, President Trump tweeted, "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"
Twitter removed the tweet, and claimed that it violated the company's policies. (The company later locked Trump's account for 12 hours, insisting that he remove any flagged tweets.)
The U.S. Capitol has been cleared of the insurrectionists amid a heavy law enforcement presence. The D.C. curfew of 6 p.m. is still in effect.
Members of Congress have so far indicated that the counting of the electoral college ballots, formally certifying President-elect Biden's victory, will continue tonight.
“We have decided we should proceed tonight at the Capitol once it is cleared for use,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
5:30 p.m.: More than three hours after Trump-supporting insurrectionists broke a police line and stormed the U.S. Capitol, law enforcement officers are now in the process of dispersing the mob away from the building.
Videos show officers using flash-bang grenades and tear gas in an attempt to scatter the mob, members of which could be seen exiting through the smashed windows of the building.
Roughly 100 people reportedly remained around the capitol at 5:15 p.m. Journalists also noted the smell of gunpowder inside the hallways of the building. In one video, an officer can be seen holding the hand of a woman who had broken into the Capitol and helping her down the stairs.
Trump supporters have also attacked the media, smashing their equipment, and threatening them with weapons, videos show.
Capitol police have been criticized throughout the day for failing to stop the mob, with several people drawing a contrast to their more violent approach to Black Lives Matter protests this month.
According to D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee, 13 people have been arrested, and five weapons were recovered. One civilian was shot inside the Capitol, Contee confirmed. It's unclear who shot the person.
Talia Jane, an NYC-based reporter who traveled to D.C. for the event, said that officers were significantly outnumbered by the pro-Trump mob.
"It was extremely bizarre watching people punch cops in the face and not get arrested," she told Gothamist by phone. Other rioters sprayed mace and pepper spray at the officers, she added. "The cops are standing down the street, not doing anything."
While the D.C. Mayor has called for a curfew at 6 p.m., Jane said it was unlikely that those who breached the Capitol would obey it.
"Everyone on the street is like, 'Fuck that, there’s more of us then there are of them,'" she added. "I think it’s going to be all night."
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: President-elect Joe Biden spoke to the country from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, calling the scene at the Capitol an "unprecedented assault" on democracy.
"An assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself, an assault on the people’s representatives and the Capitol police sworn to protect them," Biden said.
"This is not dissent, this is is disorder, it’s chaos."
Biden attempted to inject a note of hope into the somber address.
"Not withstanding what I saw today, and what we're seeing today, I remain optimistic about the incredible opportunities. There has never been anything we can't do when we do it together...We must step up. This is the United States of America."
Biden added, "President Trump, step up."
"Enough is enough is enough."
Shortly after Biden spoke, President Trump posted a video to Twitter, repeating the false claims that the election had been stolen from him, and asking the mob to go home.
"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," Trump said. "But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time."
The president added, "We love you."
Meanwhile, there are still protesters roaming throughout the Capitol building and climbing through the windows.
UPDATE 3:58 p.m.: The AP reported that at least one person has been shot in the Capitol, a woman who is in critical condition. It's not yet clear how she was shot.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said in a tweet that he would send in members of the state’s National Guard, as well as 200 Virginia State Troopers. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also announced a curfew starting at 6 p.m.
In an interview that aired live on CBS News, House Minority Leader and Republican Kevin McCarthy said he condemned the violence, and had called the president and urged him to address the country.
"I was very clear with the President when I called him, this has to stop, he has to go to the American people," McCarthy said. "This is not who we are, this is not who his supporters are."
McCarthy, a staunch supporter of the president who endorsed the objections to the electoral college certification, repeatedly refused to lay any blame at the president's feet.
"Whoever created this is going to held accountable for it," he said. "A pox on all houses...We all have a responsibility."
A White House spokesperson said that President Trump has directed the National Guard to respond to the Capitol.
Freshman New York Congressman Ritchie Torres, a former City Councilmember from the Bronx who was just seated this week, called the mob's actions "a stark reminder about the fragility of democracy."
"We cannot take for granted our democracy and we cannot take for granted the peaceful transfer of power. We have to defend it at every cost," Torres told Gothamist/WNYC. "And I have a message for my Republican colleagues: this is not a game. You're pouring gasoline on fire. And you're eroding confidence in our democracy and you're inspiring violent protest against Congress during a presidential vote count like that, to me, is a betrayal of the oath of office."
3:34 p.m. Extremist supporters of President Donald Trump have stormed the Capitol building and disrupted the vote in Congress that would certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden.
"We beat 'em four years ago, and this year they rigged an election, they rigged it like they've never rigged an election before," Trump told thousands of his supporters at a rally to "stop the steal" earlier this afternoon. The president then urged them to march to the Capitol to reverse the results of the election.
"We're gonna walk down to the Capitol and we're gonna cheer on our brave senators and Congressmen and women and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and have to be strong," Trump said.
A mob of Trump supporters then made their way to the Capitol building as several Republican members objected to the electoral college tally showing that Biden had won.
As Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a speech condemning the members of his party who were holding up the vote, violent Trump supporters confronted U.S. Capitol police on the steps of the building, and then forced their way inside.
Members of New York's Congressional delegation have been evacuated along with other members of Congress and their staff. Some of the insurrectionists entered the Senate and House chambers.
Ed Mullins, the president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, which supported Trump, said he did not blame Trump for the outburst of violence. “I’m listening to the radio. Are fires being set? Are shots being fired? That’s the type of stuff that differentiates,” he said. “We did have antifa doing stuff like that. If that’s occurring, then it’s totally wrong and it’s got to stop.”
Hours after his speech, and after targeting Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to reverse the election results, Trump urged his supporters to be peaceful
It appears that some people are being removed from the Capitol building with injuries.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
