TODAY IN 180 SECONDS – Watch this video of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Joe Biden and a pro-Trump riot that disrupted the certification of Biden’s congressional victory. The congress will meet again after 20:00.
THE VIEW FROM THE FLOOR – Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), A former CIA operations officer, spoke to Nightly about how her day unfolded. She called from a safe place while waiting for the next steps for the certification of the Electoral College. Her account has been edited:
I knew today would not be an easy day. I instructed my team that unless they have a need to be on Capitol Hill, I do not want them to come in. I instructed my staff that everyone who is there should dress in jeans or training clothes, If you present their bags, it can not necessarily be identified as Hill staff. They look just like humans.
So I only wore black pants and a black turtleneck sweater with a jacket, even though I was wearing a warm pink jacket. After it became clear that there was a problem, I took off my jacket because I did not want to be the one in the hot pink shirt.
We have notices that Cannon is being evacuated. Then we get a warning that the Capitol connection is under lock and that no one can leave, no one can enter. At one point, police in the Capitol led the Speaker slightly ceremoniously and thereafter led the leadership of the House. And that’s when it became clear that things were really increasing.
@sarahnferris, 13:14: WOW Hill staff just got this warning
“Madison: EVACUATE. Continue to your designated meeting area. USCP”
It’s never ideal to see the speaker go off. It was therefore an indication that there was a problem.
From there we were told to get our gas masks ready. They implemented chemical irritants in the Statuary Hall. We wanted to make sure we could be evacuated by possible chemical irritants. First it was, “Put them on.” And then it was, “You don’t have to have it yet.” It was a bit of a process.
At one point, it started to get pretty tense because there were people knocking on the house door, the room door. They broke through glass. Capitol police have blocked the door with benches and tables, and blocking benches and tables is clearly not an everyday protocol. This is not great. And then they tell us to come down.
Everyone got off. And try to make sure everyone listens to the officers who worked to make sure they help – you know there are press members as well – to get people out. So we spent some time on the floor, and finally, when they secured a route for us, we quickly got out of there and went to another safe place.
I’m in a safe place now. Maybe three hours ago they said it would take an hour before we got out.
Some people chat. There is a lot of pace. I think everyone seems pretty good-natured. Someone noticed that they came through with jugs of water, so we had water. If you heard me chew a little rough – I’m going to be honest, one member walked through with a box of chocolates and gave everyone a little chocolate. So I got some chocolate, which was delicious, and I could not even wait to drink it. But you will forgive me.
I’m in the same place as Liz Cheney and Hakeem Jeffries. I get it directly from the leadership of the caucuses. They are just figuring out where to do it. The way you stand up to those who want to undo our democracy is by affirming that our democracy can not be deterred and that we as legislators cannot be threatened by doing our job and our duty.
This is a scandalous day. It’s better our bottom.
Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told me that the country needs ‘aggressive healing’. Seems very appropriate today. Reach out to [email protected] and [email protected] or on Twitter at @renurayasam and @myahward.
THE LATEST – POLITICO’s coverage of today’s historical events:
All members of the DC National Guard have been mobilized to assist federal law enforcement officials in controlling violent protests in Washington. Jonathan Hoffman, Pentagon spokesman, said. The mayor of Murcia, Muriel Bowser, on Tuesday mobilized 350 DC troops from the National Guard in anticipation of the expected riots, but the troops have the task of controlling crowds and have not yet been to the Capitol.
Former President George W. Bush has condemned the riots that have rocked the US Capitol – and the Republican lawmakers who sought to delegitimize the presidential election.
Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen also condemned the rioters today and said federal agents are being deployed to suppress the conflict.
YouTube, Twitter and Facebook cling to one of Trump’s posts today after asking rioters to ‘go home’, but he made unfounded allegations about a difficult election that drew many supporters to Washington. Twitter has now closed the president’s account for 12 hours after three tweets were removed.
– Photos of DC: Steven Voss captured the chaos in the streets of Washington, which is shown in this photo gallery.
Nightly asks you: Were you at the Capitol today? Tell us what you saw using this form. Answers can be published all over POLITICO.
THE OUTLOOK FROM ABROAD NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg deplores ‘shocking scenes in Washington, DC’ and adds that ‘the outcome of this democratic election must be respected’. Josep Borrell, tweeted EU chief diplomat: “In the eyes of the world, American democracy appears under siege tonight.”
Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney today called “a deliberate attack on democracy by a sitting president and his supporters.” “Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, the birthplace of democracy: ‘Extreme problems with the violence and horrific events taking place in Washington DC are resilient.’
Monica Frassoni, the president of the European Election Support Center, told us Ryan Heath that America ‘needs to take a lot of care of its democracy: it’s fragile like everyone else. And must train his police better, who are quick to shoot lone black passers-by, but rather ineffective with white crowds. “Marietje Schaake, president of the Cyber Peace Institute and a former member of the European Parliament, today calls ‘historic, deeply tragic, destructive and a breaking point.’ She described American polarization as’ the acceptance of narrow characteristics. The attacks on democracy will ripple deep and wide. I can only hope that it serves as a rally to defend democracy. ‘
Many Hungarians compared the scenes to how elements of their democracy began to unravel in 2006, while others compared the scenes to Latin American banana republics.
Headlines around the world have focused on Trump supporters “storming” or “invading” Congress. Le Monde led with Biden’s denial of “unprecedented aggression” at the Capitol, while Europe’s largest circulation newspaper, the German tabloid Bild, took over its home page to perform live videos of the extraordinary scenes, and Australian networks had 24 hours per day provided. coverage.
Britain’s ITV network – which is equivalent to NBC – filmed hopelessly defeated police officers and followed the mob to the Speaker’s office while one man shouted: “the government has done this to us!” Washington correspondent Robert Moore suspected“It’s by no means a surprise, it’s fueled by the president’s rhetoric,” he adds, “America’s long journey as a stable democracy seems to be in real doubt.”
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