Congress reconvened Wednesday after a violent pro-Trump mob breached the U.S. Capitol, interrupting a joint session to count the Electoral College votes in President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
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Counting electoral votes is a necessary and usually routine step in the presidential election process but one that some Republicans intended to challenge this year by objecting to results in specific states. Trump supporters, including members of the extremist group The Proud Boys, also traveled to the nation’s capital to protest Biden’s win, echoing the president’s false and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
After Trump addressed protesters on the national mall, they marched to the Capitol and charged the halls of the building, forcing evacuations of lawmakers, Congressional staff and journalists covering the proceedings. Police arrested 13 people and one woman was shot and killed in the violence.
Once the area was cleared by law enforcement officials, proceedings resumed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on her chamber to finish the process they began. “Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy … It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election,” she said in a statement.
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