- The votes for President of the United States
are as follows.
Joseph R. Biden Junior of the State of Delaware
has received 306 votes.
Donald J. Trump of the State of Florida
has received 232 votes.
(crowd shouting)
- [Narrator] After a nearly four-hour violent standoff
inside the nation's Capitol,
(gavel banging) (Congress clapping)
Congress reconvened Wednesday night to certify
Democratic President Elect Joe Biden's Electoral College win
in the November election.
- We know that we would be part of history
in a positive way today.
Every four years when we demonstrate again
the peaceful transfer of power
from one president to the next.
And despite the shameful actions of today,
we feel we'll do so.
- And I've traveled the world with Joe.
I hope he lost, I prayed he would lose, he won.
He's the legitimate president of the United States.
(glass banging)
- [Man] They're breaking the window.
- [Man] Get in, get in.
- [Narrator] Later that day, around 2 p.m.,
pro-Trump rioters jumped barricades
and smashed windows, quickly overwhelming the police
and storming the Capitol building.
- [Crowd] Stop the steal, stop the steal.
- [Chuck] We'll stand in recess until the call of the chair.
- Protestors are in the building.
- Thank you.
- [Narrator] Lawmakers were interrupted,
evacuated and ordered to lock themselves in their offices
as hundreds of rioters entered the building.
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] Some could be seen throughout the building
waving Trump and American flags
and cheering from the balconies
as thousands of other people surrounded the building.
- [Crowd] Stop the steal. Stop the steal.
- [Narrator] One of them was shot by Capitol police
and three others starting the unrest.
About an hour before the violence broke out,
President Trump spoke to supporters at a rally.
- We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue,
I love Pennsylvania Avenue,
and we're going to the Capitol.
We're going to try and give our Republicans,
the weak ones, because the strong ones don't need any
of our help,
we're going to try and give them the kind
of pride and boldness that they need
to take back our country.
- [Brett] At Trump's speech in the morning,
it seemed like a fairly contained,
fairly organized event.
- [Crowd] USA.
- Pull them this way.
- [Brett] But at the Capitol,
things really changed.
And it suddenly felt out of control.
And you weren't sure which way things were going,
where the energy in the crowd was going.
- [Man] Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
- [Narrator] President Elect Joe Biden
condemned the violence
and called for the certification
of the Electoral College results to continue.
- This is not dissent.
It's disorder.
It's chaos.
It borders on sedition.
And it must end now.
I call on this mob
to pull back and allow the work of democracy
to go forward.
- [Narrator] Shortly after he spoke,
President Trump posted a recorded video on social media.
- It was a landslide election
and everyone knows it,
especially the other side.
But you have to go home now.
We have to have peace.
We have to have law and order.
- [Narrator] The video was later removed by Twitter,
YouTube and Facebook for violating their policies.
Facebook's VP of integrity said,
"This is an emergency situation
and we removed it because on balance,
we believe it contributes to,
rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence."
Trump later tweeted, "These are the things
and events that happen
when a sacred landslide election victory
is so unceremoniously
and viciously stripped away
from great patriots who have been badly
and unfairly treated for so long.
Go home with love and in peace.
Remember this day forever!"
Following that tweet,
Twitter locked the president's account for 12 hours
and warned that further violations
could lead it to permanently suspend
the president's account.
The violence at the Capitol prompted District
of Columbia mayor, Muriel Bowser,
to declare a 6 p.m. curfew
and more than 1,000 D.C. National Guard troops
were called in to help maintain order.
1,000 New York National Guard members
will also be deployed.
Some White House staffers resigned,
following the events of the day,
including a top National Security Council official
and the First Lady's Chief of Staff
and press secretary.
The scenes of violence drew condemnation
from leaders around the world.
- What happened today in Washington, D.C. is not America.
Definitely.
We believe in the strength of our democracies.
- [Narrator] As rioters broke into the Capitol
around 2 p.m. Wednesday,
lawmakers had just begun discussing a challenge
by some Republican lawmakers
to the vote tally in Arizona,
a debate that exposed a deep divide within the party.
- What does it say to the nearly half the country
that believes this election was rigged
if we vote not even to consider the claims
of illegality and fraud in this election?
And I believe there's a better way.
- If this election were overturned
by mere allegations from the losing side,
our democracy would enter a disbar.
We'd never see the whole nation accept an election again.
- [Narrator] When Congress reconvened,
the day of unrest prompted some Republicans
to reconsider their decision
to object to the certification of votes.
- Following the events of today,
it appears that some signatures
have withdrawn their objection.
(Congress clapping)
- When I arrived in Washington this morning,
I fully intended to object
to the certification of electoral votes.
However, the events that have transpired today
have forced me to reconsider
and I cannot now in good conscience object
to the certification
of these electors.
- [Narrator] But some Republicans stood
by their decision to object.
- Because for those who have concerns
about the integrity of our elections,
those who have concerns about what happened in November,
this is the appropriate means.
This is the lawful place
where those objections and concerns should be heard.
Not through violence,
not by appealing from ballots to bullets
but here in this lawful process.
- [Narrator] After Congress certified Biden's victory,
President Trump issued a statement,
committing to an orderly transition of power
on January 20th, despite disagreeing with the outcome.
(dramatic music)