WASHINGTON — Angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, marching through the building, shouting and waving Trump and American flags. The unrest forced a halt to congressional deliberations over challenges to Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
Below is a time-stamped update of events as they unfold. Be sure to refresh this story frequently to get the newest information.
3:30 p.m. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was asked about using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump during his coronavirus briefing.
"I would simply say that we're down to 13 days until the new president takes office at noon on January 20th. Invoking the 25th Amendment is something that we would not want to see happen. I believe it would stoke the fires of people who believe it (the presidential election) was a conspiracy and would lessen faith in our system," DeWine said.
"It would cause more division than healing."
3:00 p.m. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s top congressional allies, says the president must accept his own role in the violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol. The South Carolina senator said Thursday that Trump “needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution.”
Graham was a foe of Trump's during the 2016 campaign and questioned his mental fitness for office. Once Trump was in office, however, Graham became one of his closest confidants and often played golf with him.
Graham added that he had no regrets of his support of Trump but that “it breaks my heart that my friend, a president of consequence, would allow yesterday to happen.”
2:09 p.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding a briefing. You can watch in the player below:
1:43 p.m. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has announced that she is resigning, saying she 'cannot set aside' Wednesday's pro-Trump insurrection at Capitol.
1:03 p.m. Ohio's Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has released a statement about what he calls the 'domestic terrorism' at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. He is also joining the list of those calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked for the removal of President Trump:
“Yesterday was a dark day for our country. Domestic terrorists attacked our seat of government, at the behest of the President of the United States. This was his last, desperate attempt to overturn the will of the American voters, but he failed, and democracy won. We must hold the president accountable for inciting this attack on our country. The cabinet and vice president should immediately invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, to prevent him from doing more damage between now and Inauguration Day. And in 13 days, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office and begin the work to bring out the best in our nation rather than the worst, supported by a Democratic Senate."
MORE: Ohio politicians react to protestors, angry supporters of President Trump who stormed the Capitol
12:00 p.m. The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is among the lawmakers who are calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked and for President Trump to be removed from office over the U.S. Capitol riot.
Schumer said in a statement that "what happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer."
The vast majority of those joining the effort so far are Democrats, but Republican Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger on Thursday morning became the first GOP member to call for Trump's removal.
11:37 a.m. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is providing an update on Wednesday's Pro-Trump riots. Four people are dead, 69 are arrested and 14 DC Police officers have been injured. Those numbers are expected to rise.
11:17 a.m. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a statement saying the platform will extend the block it has on President Donald Trump's accounts "indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete." This includes Instagram, which Facebook owns.
10:05 a.m. Kent State University President Todd Diacon issued the following statement:
At this moment in our nation’s history, now more than ever I call on Americans to embrace and practice our university’s core value of kindness and respect in all that we do. Democracy is both a mighty force and a fragile vessel that relies on a universally shared commitment to dialogue, understanding and the truth. We assert, and rightly so, that hate has no home at Kent State University. Hate and sedition likewise should have no home in the United States of America.
This morning the Brazilian television network O Globo opened its newscast with the following statement: Yesterday was the first attempted coup against democracy in the history of the United States of America. As a historian of Brazil, who taught Latin American history courses for more than two decades and who has written two books on the history of Brazil, I am familiar with assaults against democracy in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking nations, and regrettably I must agree with O Globo’s assessment.
Please join me in thanking our elected officials of both parties whose brave actions yesterday defended our democracy.
9 a.m. What are your thoughts?
8:30 a.m. Here's the updated list of White House aides who have resigned in the wake of Wednesday's violence.
7:19 a.m. President-elect Biden is moving forward with his next steps before inauguration day arrives in less than two weeks. His team just announced he will formally introduce Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general during an event later this afternoon. Read more here.
7:05 a.m. The GO! 3News morning team offers a special morning conversation about the violence in Washington:
6:15 a.m. Here's a breakdown of how social media companies like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram took action against President Trump's accounts.
5 a.m. 3News' Austin Love talked with a man from Chardon who was one of many Northeast Ohioans who took a bus trip to D.C. to attend President Trump's rally. Here's what he had to say about the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol:
4:30 a.m. Here's our team coverage with the latest updates:
4 a.m. Here's more on President Trump's statement in which he said there will be an "orderly transition" of power.
3:45 a.m. After a long and hard day, it is finally over: Congress has declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. He and incoming Vice President Kalama Harris will be formally sworn in on Jan. 20.
President Trump has still not conceded defeat, but in a statement released on Twitter through White House aide Dan Scavino, he stated there would be an "orderly transition."
Read the full statement HERE.
Photos: Trump supporters storm US capitol during Electoral College affirmation
3:12 a.m. Congress has rejected the challenge to the Pennsylvania results, with the measure failing 92-7 in the Senate and 282-138 in the House. Both chambers are expected to regroup momentarily to finish counting the votes, with no more objections expected.
12:25 a.m. The house later objected to the Arizona objection, but Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has now joined 80 Republican representatives in objecting to Pennsylvania's electoral votes. Both chambers must now debate and vote on the motion.
Three other objections to the results in Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada did not have senator sign on, and therefore were ignored.
UPDATES FROM JAN. 6, 2021:
11:11 p.m. Police have confirmed four people died at the Capitol today (one from being shot by law enforcement, three others from medical emergencies), according to WUSA's Mike Valerio. 14 officers were injured.
10:19 p.m. The Republican-controlled Senate has rejected Sen. Ted Cruz's objection to Joe Biden's Arizona win by an overwhelming 93-6 vote. It is still being debated in the Democratic-led House, but it is also expected to fail there by a wide margin.
10:17 p.m. Back here in Cleveland, the lights at Terminal Tower are lit up in blue in support of law enforcement officers in Washington.
10:01 p.m. Former President Barack Obama has released a statement condemning today's events, saying the riots were "incited by a sitting president."
Similar statements were released by former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
8:30 p.m. Stephanie Grisham, the chief of staff to First Lady Melania Trump, has resigned in protest of today's riots. She was later joined by White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews.
NBC's Kristen Welker also reports several other high-level members of the administration are considering stepping down, including National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (the wife of Mitch McConnell.
8:00 p.m. Congress has reconvened, and will continue counting the electoral college votes into the night. Several members have rescinded their previous objections to President-elect Biden's win.
7:02 p.m. Twitter announces that it has suspended President Donald Trump'saccount for 12 hours. "Further violations of Twitter rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threat policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account."
6:40 p.m. Twitter removes three of President Donald Trump's tweets, including his one-minute video further spreading false election fraud claims.
6:30 p.m. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she plans to have Congress resume counting electoral votes Wednesday evening.
6:10 p.m. AP confirms that the woman shot inside of the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon has died.
6:00 p.m. Curfew officially in place in the Nation's capital. Violators are subject to arrest.
5:54 p.m. Officials deem Capitol "secure" after nearly four hours of violent pro-Trump protestors breached the building.
5:30 p.m. DC Metro Police using tear gas and percussion grenades to clear out protestors from the Capitol. The new curfew issued by Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser will take effect at 6 p.m.
5 p.m. Local protestors gather in Parma to support President Donald Trump's objection to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
4:40 p.m. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweets that she is "drawing up Articles of Impeachment." Representative Omar, an outspoken critic of President Trump, wrote Wednesday afternoon, "we can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."
4:35 p.m. At least one explosive device has been found near the U.S. Capitol amid a violent occupation of the building by supporters of President Donald Trump.
Law enforcement officials said the device was no longer a threat Wednesday afternoon.
4:20 p.m. President Donald Trump has responded to the events at the Capitol with a taped message on Twitter:
"You have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order," Trump told his supporters on the video. "This was a fradulent election, but we can't play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace."
The President's tweet has been flagged by Twitter with the following quote:
"This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can't be replied to, Retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence."
4:14 p.m. We've gotten other reactions from Ohio politicians in addition to Gov. DeWine.
From Lt. Gov. Jon Husted: "What’s going on inside the U.S. Capitol looks like what we would see in a third-world nation. It does not look like America. It is not patriotic. The constitutional peaceful transfer of power is what makes America special. What’s happening right now is a sad day for America."
From Sen. Rob Portman: "The right to protest peacefully is protected under the Constitution but the actions by violent mobs against our law enforcement and property at the @USCapitol building today are not. @realdonaldtrump should condemn this unacceptable vandalism and violence."
From Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11): “This is a day that will live in infamy. The very people who believe they are protecting our democracy have succeeded in destroying it. This is a sad day in the history of this great nation. This is not the way, even when we disagree. Violence is never the answer and order must be restored.”
From Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9): “This is a horrific day for American democracy and liberty. My deepest gratitude goes out to the selfless men and women of the Capitol Police for keeping my colleagues and our public servants safe. The attack on the U.S. Capitol today is an assault on democracy, decency and our Constitution. Those who have stoked and perpetuated this violence must be held accountable to fullest extent of the law.
“Such lawless behavior will not be allowed to prevent our constitutional mandate. I look forward to Congress reconvening and completing its work to certify America’s vote and to doing the work we must to heal this nation.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, condemning the actions of the protestors at the Capitol.
"The rule of law means the same rules for everybody. Those of us who called for prosecution of the people who stormed the federal courthouse in Portland must apply the same demand to those who stormed the Capitol today," AG Yost wrote in a statement. "The color of your skin or the slogan upon your banner must not change what is and is not acceptable."
4:07 p.m. Ohio's governors, past and present, have weighed in on the unrest in Washington D.C.
"The situation at the U.S. Capitol is an embarrassment to our country. This must stop immediately. The President should call for the demonstrators to leave our Capitol Building. The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted," said Gov. Mike DeWine in a statement.
"Peaceful demonstrations outside the Capitol are an exercise of the demonstrators’ First Amendment rights. Stopping the constitutional process by which we elect the president is not," DeWine added.
Also from former Ohio governor John Kasich: "What I'm seeing happening in our nation's capital is an absolute disgrace and it was brought on by demagoguery and lies. It's unbelievable that this could be happening in our precious America. We must learn from this."
4:05 p.m. President-elect Joe Biden is at the podium in Delaware addressing the events taking place at the Capitol. He is calling on President Trump to immediately deliver a speech to 'demand an end to this siege' at US Capitol.
You can watch in the player below:
4:00 p.m. The Pentagon says about 1,100 D.C. National Guard members are being mobilized to help support law enforcement as violent supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol.
Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said Wednesday afternoon that defense leaders have been in contact with the city and congressional leadership.
3:55 p.m. The top Democrats in Congress are demanding that President Donald Trump order his supporters to leave the Capitol following a chaotic protest aimed at blocking a peaceful transfer of power.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a joint statement on Wednesday after violent protesters stormed the Capitol. They said, “We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately.”
3:50 p.m. President-elect Joe Biden is set to deliver a statement to the nation as the violence in Washington D.C. continues to unfold.
3:44 p.m. According to the White House, National Guard and federal police are en route to Capitol to assist in ending occupation by Trump supporters.
3:30 p.m. One person has been shot at the U.S. Capitol as dozens of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building and violently clashed with police. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity amid a chaotic situation.
The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting were unclear. The person said the victim had been taken to a hospital. Their condition was not known,
NBC News is reporting five others have been injured.
3:25 p.m. President Donald Trump is encouraging supporters occupying the U.S. Capitol to “remain peaceful,” but he is not calling for them to disperse.
As he faced growing pressure from allies to condemn the violence Wednesday afternoon, Trump tweeted, “No violence!” adding: “Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue.”
WHAT LED TO THE UNREST
Demonstrators fought with Capitol Police and then forced their way into the building, not long after a huge rally near the White House during which Trump egged them on to march to Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers had convened for an extraordinary joint session to confirm the Electoral College results but protests erupted outside the Capitol and government office buildings were being evacuated.
Protesters made it inside the Senate chamber. One got up on the dais and yelled “Trump won that election.”
More coverage: