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Updated 8:59 p.m.
Members of Congress, including Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), were placed under lockdown on Wednesday after supporters of President Donald Trump breached barricades at the Capitol building, propelling the nation's government into a state of chaos on a day meant to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Federal lawmakers were debating an attempt by some Republicans to overturn Trump’s election defeat when pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol building. Security rushed Vice President Mike Pence off of the Senate floor and placed both chambers on lockdown.
In a video posted to Twitter around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Welch said that Capitol police had just announced a security breach.
Fifteen minutes later, Welch posted another video saying that representatives have been told there was tear gas in the rotunda.
"We're being instructed to — each of us — get gas masks that are under our seats," he said.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could not immediately be reached for comment. But around 3:20 p.m., Levi Sanders, the senator’s son, tweeted that he had just spoken “with my father and he ok in the midst of this insanity and ugliness.” And Leahy later tweeted that he was OK.Safe with other Senators. We are eager to get back on Senate Floor when safe and resume the certification of the election. I applaud President-elect Biden’s remarks a few moments ago.
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) January 6, 2021
The dean of the Senate then issued a statement later Wednesday evening accusing Trump of promoting “delusional conspiracy theories” and said the rioters should be brought to justice.
“The criminals who injured people, defiled the Nation’s Capitol, and destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of property should be prosecuted for their felonies,” Leahy said.
When the cameraman asked where they were headed, one woman replied, “The belly of the beast.” Another added, "We're going to set things right."
The account shared five more videos on Wednesday. The latest, posted at 1:22 p.m., showed hundreds of rioters gathered on the Capitol lawn.
Americans were transfixed watching live images of the hardcore Trump supporters flowing into the Capitol, smashing windows, and even entering chambers and offices.
"I am horrified at the idea that these people are calling themselves Republicans,” Vermont Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) said of the people who stormed the building. “I am absolutely astounded that anyone carrying that label would become an anarchist, and I have no other word to describe these people. They are not Republicans.”
Asked about the bus trip from Vermont, he said, "I do not know whether any of the people on that bus were part of the group that broke into the Capitol. But I am discouraged that there were people leaving the state to go down and join in a misguided attempt to circumvent what has been certified as a legal election. The fact is, if any of the people that were on that bus were actually participating in the violence that occurred, I hope they don't come back on that bus because they have no right to live in Vermont."
Deb Billado, the Vermont Republican Party chair, was at Republican National Committee meetings in Florida and available for comment, according to Paul Dame, the party's political director. He called it "unfortunate" to see Trump supports rioting just six months after Republicans were unified in opposing those in Kenosha, Wis., and Portland, Ore.
"I don't see [today's riot] as fundamentally better; in fact it's worse because rather than just destroying private property, which is bad, these people have violated public space and ... the safety of the representatives of the entire American political system," Dame said. "The Vermont Republican Party still believes in law and order and peaceful civil disobedience."
Dame said the state Republican Party didn't organize the D.C. bus trip and said he hopes that when people come back, they will quarantine.
But in a statement, the chair of the Burlington GOP, Kolby LaMarche, called on Billado and state party leadership "to take immediate action and condemn these violent acts of insurrection."
"Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but, damn it, I am,” she added. “I beg of the protesters to stand down and leave the Capitol. I beg of Donald Trump to call on them to stop. This is unacceptable. In the meantime, to all in Washington, you are in my prayers. Stay safe!”
Courtney Lamdin, Derek Brouwer and Chelsea Edgar contributed reporting.
Tags: Donald Trump, U.S. Capitol, Peter Welch, riots, Congress, lockdown, president, Web Only, Image
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