On Wednesday, US lawmakers accused supporters of US President Donald Trump of attempting a “regime change” after him. Protesters attacked Congress during a confirmation hearing for US President-elect Joe Biden.
Democrat William Baskerville tweeted, “We see a coup attempt with the impetus of the White House culprit, but that attempt failed.” “This is not a demonstration, it is a ‘conspiracy attempt’ to condemn the chaos planned by our president,” said Rep. Diana Tecti.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said congressional hearings had “no connection with the United States and should be stopped immediately.”
From the struggles around the Capitol
When he was with Congress police, he heard a radio gunshot 10 to 15 minutes ago.
Trump later released his tweet saying he had spoken with President Donald Trump and urged him to issue a statement to calm the protesters.
This comes as Republican Senator Lindsay Graham called on protesters to leave the congressional building immediately, saying “what is happening in Congress is a national embarrassment.”
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said, “Trump is to blame for this mess.”
A legislator said “tear gas” was used in Capitol’s Rotunda, with protesters backing President Trump besieging the building in protest of his defeat.
“Police asked us to remove the gas masks after using tear gas in the round room,” Democrat Jim Hymes wrote. The House and Senate suspended the confirmation hearing on Joe Biden after Trump supporters entered the building.
A U.S. lawmaker has said police officers in the House of Representatives drew their weapons when supporters of President Trump tried to attack him on Wednesday.
Representative Dan Guildy from inside the council said, “Council security and Capitol police pointed their guns, while protesters knocked on the outer door of the hall.” “We were instructed to lie on the floor and wear gas masks,” he added.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has imposed a curfew across the city after protesters violated security barriers at the Capitol building.
The ban comes into effect at 6pm (23:00 GMT), after thousands of protesters marched on Congress headquarters, forcing lawmakers to scrap the confirmation inquiry into Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. The curfew order will continue until 6 a.m. Thursday.