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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!
[Updates Begin]:
(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: 1, Troll) by Jiro on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:28PM (9 children)
Antifa and BLM supporters rioted for months. The police rarely touched them and they were often allowed to destroy anything they wanted.
So now, some right-wingers saw that and took away the wrong lesson. They assumed that it meant that you can get away with rioting, when it really meant that you could get away with politically favored rioting. Everyone's going to be all over them because they're the wrong kind of rioters.
That also includes the peaceful protestors. The media's going to blame them for giving cover to violence, even though when exactly the same thing happened with leftist rioters, we were assured that the peaceful protestors have no connection to the rioters.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:34PM (2 children)
BLM supporters protested for months, not rioted. There were some riots and police always touched them, with rubber bullets that maimed some, and arrests of innocent protesters. Sad to see your bought into the rightwing propaganda instead of doing your homework and seeing what really happened.
Also, fun note, most of the rioting happened only after the police assaulted protesters. Not that it makes the rioting ok, but it is a hell of a lot better than these assholes who intended to commit violence from the start.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:48AM (1 child)
Portland was riots, night after night. Take your lies elsewhere please.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:12AM
No, it wasn't. It was Portland. Perhaps you do not know Rose City?
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:47AM
I know some people who were at nearby BLM protests. The cops *always* attacked them and arrested a bunch of them, regardless of whether they were peaceful or not.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 4, Informative) by sjames on Thursday January 07 2021, @05:02AM (4 children)
You know what the BLM protesters never did? They never smashed the windows of the Capitol and forced Congress to adjourn and move to a safe location.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @05:48AM (1 child)
Some of the CHAZ types are actually jealous that they were not the ones to do this. Progressives are carefully controlled by the Democratic Party and BLM will be shelved now.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday January 07 2021, @05:56AM
Too bad the GOP couldn't control their stooges.
(Score: 2) by Jiro on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:31PM (1 child)
They smashed other people's windows. Or at least the rioter part of them did, just like the rioters here.
I'm not sure how many shop windows are equivalent to one Capitol window.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @06:53PM
Simple. One is vandalism, the other is sedition.