Called to action by tRUMP, thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 5 and 6 in support of his [demonstrably false] claim that the 2020 election had been "stolen" from him, and to demand that Vice President Mike Pence and Congress reject Biden's victory. On the morning of January 6, at a "Save America" rally on the Ellipse, tRUMP repeated false claims of election irregularities and urged the crowd to "fight like hell" 01:11:44 At the president's encouragement, thousands of the protesters then walked to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress was beginning the Electoral College vote count to formalize Biden's victory.
Many of the crowd at the Capitol, some of whom had gathered earlier, breached police perimeters and stormed the building. These rioters occupied, vandalized, and looted parts of the building for several hours. Many became violent, assaulting Capitol Police officers and reporters, erecting a gallows on the Capitol grounds, and attempting to locate lawmakers to take hostage and harm. They chanted "Hang Mike Pence", blaming him for not rejecting the Electoral College votes, [even though] he lacked the constitutional authority to do so. The rioters targeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA), vandalizing and looting her offices, as well as those of other members of Congress.
Upon security being breached, Capitol Police evacuated the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Several buildings in the Capitol complex were evacuated, and all were locked down. Rioters occupied and ransacked the empty Senate chamber while federal law enforcement officers drew handguns to defend the evacuated House floor. Improvised explosive devices were found near the Capitol grounds, as well as at offices of the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and in a nearby vehicle. Five people died from the events, while dozens more were injured.
tRUMP initially resisted sending the D.C. National Guard to quell the mob. In a Twitter video, he called the rioters "very special" and told them to "go home in peace" while repeating his false election claims. The Capitol was cleared of rioters by mid-evening, and the counting of the electoral votes resumed and was completed in the early morning hours. Pence declared President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris victors and affirmed that they would assume office on January 20. Pressured by his administration, the threat of removal, and numerous resignations, tRUMP later committed to an orderly transition of power in a televised statement.
The events were widely condemned by political leaders and organizations in the United States and internationally. Mitch McConnell (R–KY), Senate Minority Leader, called the storming of the Capitol a "failed insurrection" provoked by the UNpresident's "lies" and said that the Senate "will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation". Several social media and technology companies suspended or banned tRUMP's accounts from their platforms, and many business organizations cut ties with him. A week after the riot, the House of Representatives voted to impeach tRUMP for "incitement of insurrection", making him the only U.S. UNpresident to have been impeached twice.
Opinion polls showed that a large majority of Americans disapproved of the storming of the Capitol and of tRUMP's actions leading up to and following it, although some RepuGNicans [as distinct from Republicans] supported the attack or at least did not blame tRUMP for it. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened more than 170 investigations into the events, and indicated that many more are likely to come. Dozens of people present at the riot were later found to be listed in the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, most as suspected white "supremacists". Members of the Oath Keepers anti-government paramilitary group were indicted on conspiracy charges for allegedly staging a planned mission in the Capitol.
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