House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declared that “help is needed” in a live phone interview with CBS News, in response to a mob breaching the U.S. Capitol and Senate chambers following a “March for Trump” demonstration against certifying Electoral College votes.
What he’s saying: “I think for the security of others, I think help is needed,” McCarthy said. “Let’s get this under control.”
Where it stands: Senators, House members and reporters have been evacuated to undisclosed locations, per Axios reporters on the ground. Vice President Mike Pence, overseeing the certification of Electoral College votes, was evacuated from the Senate chamber around 2 p.m.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also connected with her caucus from a secure location, Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) told C-SPAN.
What to watch: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a citywide curfew in response to the incident from 6 p.m. on Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday. She activated the National Guard in response to the planned mass demonstrations by Trump supporters.
- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced around 3:30 p.m. that he will send members of the Virginia National Guard in response to the incident, as well as 200 state troopers, after talking with Bowser, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
- The National Guard is “on the way,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said after 3:30 p.m.
What we’re hearing: Protesters walked through the Capitol Statuary hall, which separates the House and Senate, filling into both sides with U.S. flags and MAGA flags.
- Reporters were advised just after 2:30 p.m. to “be prepared to get down” in their chairs and relocate, Axios’ Kadia Goba reports. She was in the chamber when members bolted the door and watched Capitol police draw their guns and point at the door.
- At 2:31 p.m., everyone was evacuated from the floor.
- A police officer stood in the center of the Cannon office building and shouted: “EVERYONE OUT, RIGHT NOW … WE’RE EVACUATING,” Axios’ Alayna Treene reports. Police ushered everyone toward the Longworth House Office Building.
Reactions: Trump responded directly to the incident a little over an hour after it began, urging “everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful.”
- In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer called on President Trump “to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately.”
- President-elect Joe Biden responded to Wednesday’s events, saying the incident “borders on sedition … I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.”