Protesters Break into Capitol, Forcing Suspension of Debate on Electoral Votes

Jan. 6 , 2021 (EIRNS)—At approximately 2:15 p.m., disorder broke out in the House and the Senate, as a group of protesters, led by a violent minority, breached the surprisingly thin security perimeter around the Capitol and entered it.

Trump, encouraged by the cockamamie legal theories advanced by such members of his legal team as Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, issued the following tweet at 2:24 p.m.: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

Over the ensuing three hours, there was chaos inside the building, reported use of tear gas, guns drawn by security personnel, emergency evacuation of congressmen and others to secure areas and “undisclosed locations,” but fortunately little or no additional violence. Eventually, additional law enforcement personnel were brought in, and the Capitol was secured, essentially by the time the 6 p.m. curfew began. (One protester died after reportedly being shot by police.)

Why sufficient security had not been pre-positioned to maintain the integrity of the Capitol beforehand, is a question which many are now asking. The related question under investigation is just who incited the violent breach of the Congress.

The breach of Congress, including the sight of a protester occupying the chair of the Senate’s presiding officer, was predictably used by the liberal media to accuse Trump of leading an “insurrection” and a virtual coup d’état. Contrast this treatment to the way the media handled the Antifa-related violence that occurred in D.C. as guests—including federal lawmakers—left a White House event only to be surrounded by menacing “peaceful protesters.” Consider the explosives used against federal buildings and police stations in the Pacific Northwest.

Joe Biden delivered a televised message declaring that “democracy was under unprecedented assault,” and then laced his remarks with expressions such as “this borders on sedition,” “the siege” of the Congress, and “this is insurrection, not protest.”

But the mob having free rein in the Capitol for several hours, while providing shocking imagery, was not a “coup.” This intrusion could not change the outcome of the counting of the electoral votes, or who will officially become the President-elect when Congress concludes that task.

Cui bono? The violent breach of the Congress has apparently ensured that the additional planned congressional objections to the election fraud were dropped, which only serves to prevent the public from learning about specifics of vote fraud.

Today’s events will be used to kick off a new round of attacks against Trump between now and Jan. 20, and to criminalize protest (but only protests not supported by those in charge) and to limit free speech rights. Already Wednesday afternoon, New York Times tech writer Sheera Frenkel has written an article entitled, “The Storming of Capitol Hill Was Organized on Social Media,” which she concludes with a quotation about the storming of the Capitol: “This has been a striking repudiation of the idea that there is an online and an offline world and that what is said online is in some way kept online.”