Pictures Show Guns Drawn on House Floor as Mob Storms Congress
Thousands of protesters headed to the nation's capital on Wednesday, surrounding the Capitol building and breached police lines amid the joint session in Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
Many photos and videos posted across social media showed President Donald Trump's supporters protesting the certification of state's Electoral College votes.
As the joint session in Congress continued, tensions escalated and protesters eventually breached the Capitol building, entering the Senate chamber and prompting police officers to draw their guns inside the House chamber.
Capitol police officers were seen in the picture below pointing guns at a door in the House chamber as protesters gathered outside. In the second picture, police officers can be seen standing at another door in the House chamber as protesters attempted to enter.
Several other photos below show the chaotic scenes inside the Capitol building, as protesters breached the Senate and House chambers.
Igor Bobic, a politics reporter for the Huffington Post shared several photos of the protesters inside the building, with one picture showing a protester waving a Confederate flag outside of the Senate chamber.
Another photo posted to Twitter by Bobic showed one protester standing inside the Senate chamber.
Another picture captured several Trump supporters laying on the ground as they are detained by police officers.
Protesters also breached the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as the picture below shows a note on her desk that reads, "We Will Not Back Down."
Another photo shows a Trump supporter wearing a "Keep America Great" hat while sitting at a desk after entering the Capitol building.
A similar photo shown below captured a Trump supporter standing on a staircase in the Capitol building waving a flag that said "Trump Is My President."
Prior to breaching the Capitol building, several other photos and videos were posted across social media, showing the crowd surrounding the building and eventually taking down barriers set up by police officers.
Donie O'Sullivan of CNN posted a video on Twitter showing protesters breaking through barriers outside of the Capitol building and heading toward the entrance.
Twitter user Elijah Schaffer of The Blaze shared a similar video, showing protesters pushing law enforcement officials.
"Trump supporters have breached the Capitol building, tearing down 4 layers of security fencing and are attempting to occupy the building—fighting federal police who are overrun," Schaffer wrote in the tweet.
Another video posted by Twitter user Brian Entin of News Nation Now showed a video of protesters reaching the steps of the Capitol building, with many waving flags in support of Trump.
The Capitol Building was placed on lockdown as protesters continued to move closer, but they were eventually able to breach the building and were seen inside.
In a video posted by BNO News, protesters can be seen walking through the halls of the Capitol building.
While the protesters gathered to show support of Trump, many of the president's allies, including his son, Donald Trump Jr., condemned the actions of the protesters.
"This is wrong and not who we are. Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don't start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and this doesn't help anyone," Trump Jr. wrote in a tweet.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz also criticized the protests, writing on Twitter that, "Violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high." Cruz was one of the 13 other Republican Senators who publicly announced that they would object the certification of electoral votes, in an effort to overturn Trump's defeat.
Newsweek reached out to the Metro Police Department in D.C. for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
