Democracy defiled: Trail of destruction left inside US Capitol after Donald Trump's mob trashed offices, vandilized statues of America's heroes and looted Nancy Pelosi's lectern as lawmakers cowered in terror
Shocking images today revealed the trail of destruction inside the US Capitol after hundreds of Donald Trump's mob ransacked the seat of American democracy to demand Joe Biden's election be overturned.
Lecterns piled like trash, windows smashed, statues of heroes vandalized, dossiers strewn across office floors and telephones ripped from the walls lay among the tattered signage of the president's rabble: 'Treason', said one banner, 'Stop the Steal,' another.
Trump finally accepted his fate this morning after Vice President Mike Pence ended his desperate campaign to overturn the election by certifying Biden's win before Congress in the early hours of Thursday.
Congressmen were seen down on their knees today picking up debris alongside police officers as dawn broke on the carnage that left four dead in Washington DC and terrified lawmakers who hid in their rooms and under seats in the chamber.
Footage from inside the offices of the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, shows how the furious Trump supporters ripped open her filing cabinets, broke windows and trashed furniture after they forced their way inside.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suite of offices were also targeted by the rioters who smashed a mirror, cracked the Democrat's nameplate and left a menacing message scrawled on a file: 'WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.'
A laughing Trump protester was even pictured leaning back in Pelosi's chair with his feet up on her desk as hundreds of Representatives and Senators feared for their lives.
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Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., helps ATF police officers (special highly trained officers) clean up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday
A protester walks through Congress carrying Nancy Pelosi's lectern after storming the Capitol with hundreds of others calling for Joe Biden's election to be overturned
The ransacked office of the Senate Parliamentarian: pic.twitter.com/E7PsSgoAEX
— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) January 7, 2021
The ransacked office of the Senate Parliamentarian: pic.twitter.com/E7PsSgoAEX
A door with broken windows inside the Capitol and plastered with Trump stickers, left; and a man takes a photo of broken windows near the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursda
A banner saying, 'Treason,' lies on the ground next to the dust strewn floor and fire extinguishers which appear to have been used
Damage is seen inside the US Capitol building early on Thursday as a Congressional staffer speaks on the phone beside statues of America's heroes
Trash and Trump signs are seen piled beside the statue of the great American hero Major Andrew Jackson
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., second from left, walks past damage with staffers in the early morning hours of Thursday
Desecration: Papers were strewn over carpets and furniture was flipped over during the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol. Trump finally accepted his fate this morning after after Vice President Mike Pence ended his desperate campaign to overturn the election in the early hours of Thursday by certifying Biden's win.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suite of offices were also targeted by the rioters who smashed a mirror, cracked the Democrat's nameplate and left a menacing message scrawled on a file: 'WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN'
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., stops to look at damage in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday
Footage from inside the offices of the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, shows how the furious Trump supporters ripped open her filing cabinets, broke windows and trashed furniture after they forced their way inside
The office of the Senate Parliamentarian, an apolitical position, is totally wrecked after the MAGA mob broke into the Capitol Building
A workman pushed a cart full of new fire extinguishers through the Ohio Clock Corridor near the Senate floor inside the US Capitol in Washington after protesters unleashed chaos
Clean up operations outside the famous Capitol Building in Washington DC on Thursday after it was stormed by Trump's riotous brigades
The extent of the damage remains unclear, as does knowledge of what may have been looted from the building which is filled with priceless artefacts and sensitive documents - both paper and digital - which are kept in the offices of lawmakers.
Trump finally accepted his fate this morning after Pence ended his desperate campaign to overturn the election and certified Biden's win in the early hours of the morning as lawmakers thrashed out the process to verify the result of the Electoral College which had infuriated the MAGA mob.
Trump said there would be an 'orderly transition' - a hallmark of American democracy he had repeatedly called into question - but still claimed falsely that the election was stolen despite 50 states, a series of judges and now the U.S. Congress dismissing challenges to the result.
'Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20,' Trump said in a statement that aides posted on Twitter after the president's account was locked for stirring up violence.
'I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted,' Trump said. 'While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.'
Pence made the final announcement after a nearly 15-hour saga that saw rioting supporters of President Trump mob the U.S. Capitol Building in a day of carnage and shame that left four dead, saw pipe bombs, long guns and Molotov cocktails discovered in the Capitol grounds – and left America's image as the beacon of democracy reeling.
Police stand outside the East Front of the US Capitol at dusk as a curfew begins after pro-Trump protesters stormed the grounds leading to chaos, in Washington, DC
A U.S. Capitol Police officer walks past damage to windows and furniture in the early hours of Thursday as lawmakers continued their debate after the building was secured
Broken glass and debris litter a corridor in the US Capitol in Washington on Thursday
Shattered reinforced glass and debris litter the East steps in the US Capitol as a clean up operation begins on Thursday
US Capitol officials inspect damage in The Rotunda inside the US Capitol in Washington on Thursday
Furniture litter a hallway after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump occupied the U.S. Capitol Building, after the Congress reconvened to certify the Electoral College votes of the 2020 presidential election, in Washington
Damage is seen inside the US Capitol building early early on Thursday after supporters of US President Donald Trump breeched security and entered the building during a session of Congress
Aftermath of an emergency medical attention in a hallway after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump occupied the U.S. Capitol Building, in Washington
Boarded up windows and doors of the desecrated seat of American democracy on Thursday
Cleaners dust off and polish the statues in the Statuary Hall inside the US Capitol in Washington on Thursday after yesterday's chaos which left four dead
Clean up operations today after protestors stormed the building yesterday, Washington DC
Lecterns and notice boards are pile on top of each other after protesters rushed through the hallways of America's democracy
Dust and a gas mask are visible on the ground in the early morning hours of Thursday. It's not clear who it belongs to but lawmakers were told to don masks as the police started to deploy tear gas
Glass and furniture is piled in the hallways in the early morning hours of Thursday after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday
Debris and personal belongings are strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours after protesters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday in Washington, Thursday
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and trash strewn across the floor in the early morning hours of Thursday,
An ATF police officer cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday
Furniture litter a hallway after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump occupied the U.S. Capitol Building, after the Congress reconvened to certify the Electoral College votes of the 2020 presidential election, in Washington
Damage is seen inside the US Capitol building early on January 7, 2020 in Washington, DC, after supporters of US President Donald Trump breached security and entered the building during a session of Congress
Damage is seen inside the US Capitol building early on Thursday beside dispensed fire extinguishers and a sign which says 'Treason'
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., second from left, walks past damage in the early morning hours of Thursday
Discarded water bottles and shattered panes of glass are seen in the hallway of the Capitol Building today
The MAGA mob – which included white supremacists, Holocaust deniers and Q Anon followers - interrupted the certification of results as they smashed through police barricades, stormed into the halls of the Capitol and even sat in the Senate chamber.
They looted offices, vandalized statues and confronted police as they rampaged through the Capitol, carrying Confederate flags, in hours of anarchy which shocked the world and which Biden called an 'insurrection'.
As the world watched in disbelief, many were shocked at how easily the invaders had breached the hallways of American democracy - contrasting the lax security with the heavy-handed crackdowns ordered by Trump at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
Clean up operations and National Guard at the US Capitol after protestors stormed the building yesterday, Washington DC
Clean up operations and National Guard at the US Capitol after protestors stormed the building yesterday
A woman cleans up trash at the Capitol Building today beside a mangled fence
Officials clean up outside the Capitol Building on Thursday
members of the National Guard walk around the Capitol Building on Thursday
Officers from the National Guard walk around the perimeter of the Capitol Building on Thursday
Even as intruders desecrated the Capitol, Trump was said to be reluctant to deploy the National Guard, with reports saying that he 'rebuffed and resisted' the request before Pence and others finally made it happen.
Lawmakers were rushed off the floor of the House and Senate – and brought back at 8pm under armed guard while outside the mob defied a curfew in D.C. The president who had whipped them into fury tweeted: 'You are special. You are loved.'
One woman - 14-year Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit - was shot dead inside the building, with three others dead from unspecified 'medical emergencies' during the chaos.
Washington police chief Robert Contee said 14 police were injured, one of them pulled into a crowd and assaulted. 52 people were arrested.
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., helps ATF police officers clean up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday
Shards of glass and cracked paving stones are seen in the hallways of the Capitol Building today
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., helps ATF police officers clean up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., helps ATF police officers clean up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., helps ATF police officers clean up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday
A smashed window is seen in the Capitol Building close to an abandoned Stop the Steal placard, left; and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday, right
The trashed suite of offices belonging to the Senate Parliamentarian, broken windows, strewn documents and upended desks
Dossiers are piled on the floor of an office after the Trump mob broke in on Wednesday evening and caused chaos
Broken windows on a set of doors at the Capitol Building on Thursday after hundreds breached security and stormed inside to demand Biden's election victory be overturned
Congress' overwhelming rejection of attempts to overturn the vote and Pence's role in it will surely further enrage Trump, who wanted his VP to unilaterally overrule Biden's win - and he was left further isolated by the resignation of multiple White House aides including former press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
The president was banished from Twitter for 12 hours Wednesday due to violating the company's rules meaning he could not vent on his favorite medium. The ban is due to expire at 5am Thursday morning.
With just 13 days left of his presidency, Trump is now at war with Mitch McConnell, facing whispers of his own cabinet trying to force him out and Democrats openly discussing impeaching him again - while just a handful of senators led by Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley and the majority of the House GOP remain loyal.
Mockery: A Trump supporter puts his feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk after storming into the Capitol during an unprecedented effort to subvert a democratic election and keep Donald Trump in power
A Trump supporter posed alongside a statue of President Gerald Ford inside the Capitol
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington
Congressional staffers barricade themselves inside their offices as Trump supporters rampage through the Capitol Building
Lawmakers cower in fear as protesters try to break down the doors of the House Chamber on Wednesday
Protesters broke windows to gain access to the Capitol as lawmakers were whisked to safety on Wednesday afternoon
A congressional member of staff holds his hands up as Police SWAT teams sweep the Capitol to clear it of rioters
It was Hawley who forced Congress to sit late into the night. Biden was at 244 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed when a final challenge of Pennsylvania's count pushed lawmakers back into their respective chambers.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell skipped the two hours of permitted debate and went straight to a vote.
The upper chamber voted 92-7 to overrule the Republicans' objection - with some Republicans changing sides to vote with the majority after the carnage of the preceding hours.
'We don't expect additional votes tonight,' McConnell said when things were done. McConnell had been against the GOP effort to challenge the Electoral College vote counts from the beginning.
The House proceeded with debate and then voted 282 to 138 to overrule the challenge of Pennsylvania, with 64 Republicans voting alongside Democrats to make up the majority.
Supporters of US President Donald J. Trump stand inside the office of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Supporters of US President Donald Trump sit inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protest inside the US Capitol in Washington
Supporters of US President Donald J. Trump stand inside the office of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington
Both houses have to vote in favor of a challenge for it to succeed.
Republicans in the House and Senate had earlier challenged the votes in Arizona - which prompted two hours of debate, interrupted by the MAGA riot - and that objection was overwhelmingly overruled.
House Republicans also tried to challenge the results in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, but GOP senators would no longer sign on after the day's dramatic events.
'Mr. President prior to the actions and events of today we did but following the events of today it appears that some senators have withdrawn their objection,' admitted Georgia Rep. Jody Hice when challenging the results in his state.