2021-01-07 14:44:44 UTC: UPDATE (See below the fold).
Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol on historic day in Congress:
Supporters of President Donald Trump breached the US Capitol on Wednesday while Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College's votes for president and vice president.
The Capitol has been put on lockdown and the certification vote has been paused. Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated from the building. House and Senate leadership is safe and in undisclosed locations, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Congress' counting of electoral votes is typically little more than an afterthought. But this joint session was expected to be a contentious affair that would last late into the evening and possibly on Thursday. Some Republicans are objecting to the count and delaying the inevitable certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Also at AlJazeera (In Pictures: Pro-trump mob storms US Capitol building) and c|net (Mob storms Capitol forcing halt of election vote count).
[2021-01-06 22:33:53 UTC; UPDATE] NOTE: This is a chaotic time.
The Electoral College votes are currently being confirmed and tallied. Runoff votes in Georgia are being tallied and the results may swing the balance of power in the US Senate. The Georgia secretary of state [has been] relocated from [State] Capitol for security reasons. Mitch McConnell goes off on Trump. Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer's computer. And Trump hand-picks replacement for Atlanta's US attorney after surprise resignation.
Let's please try and keep the discussion civil.
Also, please be polite and share your popcorn!
(1) Fox News reports Biden's Electoral College victory certified -- hours after Capitol chaos:
The U.S. Congress early Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden his presidential victory -- after a day in Washington that was marred by pro-Trump protesters storming the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced he would not overturn the will of voters, confirmed the Biden victory at 3:41 a.m. ET.
Lawmakers had returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially vowed to challenge states' results due to voter fraud concerns announcing they'd instead vote to certify.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the breach of the Capitol a "failed insurrection," adding that those who "tried to disrupt our democracy" had not succeeded.
(2) President Trump "Responds" via Staffer's Twitter Account after His Account was Suspended:
Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
"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. I have always said we would continue our...
...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"
(3) Facebook, Twitter lock Trump's account following video addressing Washington rioters:
- Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday said they would lock the account of President Donald Trump after he continued to make false claims about the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
- Facebook, YouTube and Twitter on Wednesday removed a video by President Donald Trump addressing Washington rioters.
- Meanwhile, calls are mounting for Twitter and Facebook to suspend Trump's accounts.
(4) The Associated Press has called the results for the Georgia Senate elections: both Democratic candidates defeated their GOP opponents:
With projected victories in the twin races of Warnock and Ossoff, President-elect Joe Biden will have the narrowest majority in the Senate, with both parties holding 50-50 seats apiece, allowing the tie-breaking vote to be cast by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Also at The New York Times.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:55PM (9 children)
Shot by whom though?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:16PM
No matter who pulled the trigger, the onus is on whoever incited this action.
Of course after 350K Covid deaths, what is a few more?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:31AM (5 children)
From what I've heard she was shot by Whitehouse security while climbing through a window. Very few details.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:06AM (3 children)
The videos and pictures are being removed from Twitter but I've already seen them. Yes she was climbing through a window. Yes she was shot by people on the other side of the window.
I'd link to the videos and pictures but I can't.
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:56AM (2 children)
I didn't see what you saw. I think she is standing behind the dude in red to the side of the doorway.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1346913432411504642/pu/vid/1280x720/V4xT8jO21igmmCvk.mp4?tag=10 [twimg.com]
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1346913555258486785/pu/vid/1280x720/YLkSPguJNhQ6LAje.mp4?tag=10 [twimg.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:44AM (1 child)
I've seen a picture from inside where the armed people are pointing guns at the window in question and I've seen video of her falling out of the window immediately after the gun went off.
I suppose it is still possible that the bullet didn't fly out the window from the other side of it, that was an assumption on my part, but she definitely fell out of the window. The best I know she was also shot in the face (entry from front of the skull) and the video I saw had her fall out of the window backwards.
It looks like the cops shot a person invading a Federal building. It's not that weird of a concept. This is firmly into "play stupid games" territory.
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:02AM
You are correct -- since posting I've seen the other video -- it looks like she was trying to climb in through a broken window by standing on something (this put her half a body height taller than everyone else) and got shot, probably from someone far down the hallway as the hall looks pretty empty.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/06/video-shows-moment-ashli-babbit-was-fatally-shot-in-capitol/ [nypost.com]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:13AM
Who did you hear it from and what source did they give?
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by crafoo on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:37AM
There is video on bitchute of her getting shot climbing in through a broken window.
I heard her name was Robin, but that was incorrect. I also heard the body count was 3, but I haven't tried to confirm that.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday January 07 2021, @07:36PM
If I had to guess, the shot was from the Secret Service. Especially if she was trying to get in while Mike Pence was in the chamber, which they pretty much had to treat as an assassination attempt.
The fact is that there were enough people with guns and other weapons on the scene that I'm very surprised only 1 person was shot.
Vote for Pedro