Photos Of The Capitol Building Insurrection

A little after 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, as Congress was set to convene to certify states’ electoral college votes for President-elect Joseph R. Biden, a group of armed insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol building, the Associated Press reports.

A protest of the vote certification had been planned previously by President Trump supporters. At a nearby rally earlier in the day, the president urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, per the Chicago Tribune. “We will not let them silence your voices,” he reportedly said.

Photos show Capitol police attempting to deescalate protestors, with some launching tear gas to get them to disperse. Many people on Twitter drew comparisons to the summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, where law enforcement was quicker to deploy more violent crowd dispersal tactics.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. citywide curfew. C-Span viewers could hear the on-air anchor getting an emergency alert from the city in real time.

On Twitter, Republican and Democratic congresspeople denounced the violence. Trump tweeted for the insurrectionists to “stay peaceful.” “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country,” the tweet read.