US Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate as the U.S. Capitol Complex went into lockdown due to an external security threat, while Trump supporters rioted outside the building.
A member of the Senate noted that Vice President Pence and Senator Charles Grassley, the president pro-tem, have been taken to a secure location. The Senate doors are closed and locked, and senators have been told to stay away from the doors.
Lawmakers had just begun the procedural process of counting the Electoral College votes and formally declaring President-elect Joe Biden the winner.
Earlier, Trump, during a rally, encouraged thousands of his supporters to march to the Capitol to protest the confirmation of Biden’s victory. Trump, despite telling the crowd he would join them in the march to the Capitol, returned to the White House.
He later tweeted: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
The Cannon House Office Building and Madison Building were evacuated earlier in the day. Occupants that were evacuated from Cannon, on the House side of the Capitol, had been given clearance to re-enter the building.
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