The US Capitol secured 4 hours after being breached by pro-Trump rioters

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The US Capitol secured 4 hours after being breached by pro-Trump rioters
U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.J. Scott Applewhite
  • Thousands of protesters from across the US gathered in Washington, DC, on Wednesday to protest the presidential vote certification in Congress.
  • The protests turned into riots, which led to the Capitol being evacuated as rioters stormed the building and halted the vote-certification process.
  • The US Capitol was secured four hours after being breached.
  • Before the vote-certification process, Trump whipped his supporters into a frenzy using a groundless claim that Congress could selectively throw out states' electoral votes based on unsubstantiated assertions of fraud.
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US officials announced Wednesday evening that the US Capitol building had been secured - four hours after it was breached by pro-Trump supporters in an attempted coup.

The protests grew violent after a speech from the president on Wednesday morning in which he told the crowd that he would never concede the presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden.

"We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen," Trump said. "You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We're not going to take it anymore."

The president also told his supporters to walk to the Capitol building, insisting that he would join them to applaud members of Congress certifying the presidential election results. He quickly backtracked, saying that some members did not deserve cheers - the president ultimately did not walk with the crowd to the Capitol building.

"We're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them," Trump said. "Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."

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Hours later, rioters fought against police while attempting to enter the US Capitol. They ultimately succeeded.

The Capitol went into lockdown as both the House of Representatives and the Senate were in their chambers discussing the validity of Arizona's vote in the election. Congress was later sent into recess before members were evacuated from the building when protesters gained entrance into the Capitol building about 1:30 p.m. ET.

Members of Congress were seen wearing emergency gas masks as they were evacuated. In the hours following the evacuation, the siege continued as supporters of President Donald Trump rallied inside the building with Confederate and pro-Trump flags.

Gunshots were later heard in the building, and one woman was fatally shot, according to NBC News. Multiple prominent members of the far-right QAnon conspiracy-theory movement were also seen inside of the Capitol and among the first rioters to gain entrance.

Congress has yet to finish certifying the results of the presidential election, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing members of Congress to continue to verify the election results now that the building has been secured, according to The Washington Post.

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