TIME LINE
12 p.m.
President Donald Trump starts his speech. A sizable group of protesters has already gathered at the Capitol’s outer perimeter, at 1st Street.
JENNY JING/THE EPOCH TIMES
12:37 p.m.
A stream of people leaving Trump’s speech early slowly make their way down Constitution Avenue toward the Capitol. The 1.2-mile stretch is about a 25-minute walk.
12:45 p.m.
A suspicious package, later revealed to be a pipe bomb, is found at the Republican National Committee headquarters, just south of the Capitol.
SHAO LIN/THE EPOCH TIMES
12:53 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence releases a statement saying he lacks the authority to reject electoral votes.
12:57 p.m.
Several people jump fencing at 1st Street, behind the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.
MEGAN VARNER/GETTY IMAGES
12:58 p.m.
A crowd breaks through temporary fencing near the Peace Monument.
1:01 p.m.
The first police line breaks on the west side of the Capitol.
1:02 p.m.
Low fencing at the Capitol steps is breached. Scuffles break out. The police use pepper spray.
1:03 p.m.
Another police line forms at the Capitol’s double staircase. Riot police arrive.
LEO SHI/THE EPOCH TIMES
1:06 p.m.
The joint session of Congress convenes to count the electoral votes.
1:12 p.m.
President Donald Trump finishes his speech at the Ellipse in The President’s Park.
SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
1:14 p.m.
More scuffles break out between rioters and police. The line holds.
1:15 p.m.
A suspicious package, later revealed to be a pipe bomb, is found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters just south of the Capitol.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
1:20 p.m.
A temporary fencing perimeter is reestablished in the Inauguration platform area at the bottom of the double staircase.
1:25 p.m.
People are spotted on the metal structure of the Inauguration platform around the northern staircase.
1:35 p.m.
Police fire irritants into the crowd, likely from the upper level of the Capitol, above the double staircase.
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
2:02 p.m.
The temporary fencing and police line set up about 250 feet from the central east Capitol entrance is breached.
2:07 p.m.
The temporary fencing and police line set up at the steps of the central east Capitol entrance is breached. The crowd climbs the stairs and spreads through the upper level.
2:08 p.m.
The Capitol is placed under lockdown.
TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES
2:10 p.m.
A crowd breaks through temporary fencing at the top of the northern staircase. Several officers guarding it retreat.
2:11 p.m.
The central east Capitol entrance door is opened. It’s unclear how.
2:15 p.m.
TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES
A crowd breaks into the building through a window and a secondary entrance north of the main entrance on the upper level. Some people are driven back out by police, but more pour in.
2:16 p.m.
Another crowd reaches the entrance to the northern wing, which houses the Senate chamber.
JON CHERRY/GETTY IMAGES
2:18 p.m.
The House calls a recess during its debate over an objection to the electoral votes from Arizona.
2:24 p.m.
Trump says in a tweet: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”
2:25 p.m.
Capitol Police report shots fired.
2:26 p.m.
The Senate calls a recess during its debate over an objection to the electoral votes from Arizona.
2:28 p.m.
The crowd that entered from the west reaches the entrance to the southern wing, where the House chamber is located. The corridor is blocked by about half a dozen officers. Some in the crowd try to negotiate passage with them.
SCREENSHOT VIA SENATE.GOV
2:30 p.m.
Lawmakers and staff are evacuated through underground tunnels.
2:31 p.m.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announces a curfew to begin at 6 p.m.
2:35 p.m.
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
The crowd at the southern wing pushes its way past the outmanned police with minimal resistance. The crowd reaches the House chamber entrance. Later images from inside show the entrance is at some point barricaded, with police guarding it with guns drawn.
2:38 p.m.
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Trump says in a tweet: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
2:41 p.m.
At the House chamber, the crowd, now about 200 strong, is unable to get through the door. Most of the intruders give up on that entrance and head east down the corridor and around two corners to the entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby, situated behind the House chamber.
2:42 p.m.
The crowd reaches the glass-paneled door to the Speaker’s Lobby, which is barricaded with furniture from the other side. Three officers are standing in front of the door.
2:43 p.m.
The officers abandon the door upon shouts from the rioters and persuasion from John Sullivan, a videographer and “racial justice” activist. Several rioters immediately start breaking through the glass. Sullivan spots a man with a gun drawn on the other side of the door. He alerts the crowd, but some rioters continue to break through the glass.
2:44 p.m.
Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt climbs into an empty frame left after a window is broken. She is immediately shot by a plainclothes policeman on the other side. At the same time, four officers in tactical gear and rifles reach the scene from a lower level through a staircase to the north.
2:45 p.m.
TWITTER/ASHLI BABBITT
A crowd is seen inside the Senate chamber.
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
2:47 p.m.
Intruders are on the Senate floor.
3:33 p.m.
A stream of people is seen
leaving the protest.
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
3:35 p.m.
Pence writes on Twitter: “The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now. Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building. Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
3:35 p.m.
The Department of Homeland Security says it’s sending in agents to aid Capitol Police.
3:36 p.m.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany writes in a tweet: “At President [Donald Trump]’s direction, the National Guard is on the way along with other federal protective services. We reiterate President Trump’s call against violence and to remain peaceful.”
SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
3:55 p.m.
Congressional Democratic leaders demand that Trump order his supporters to leave the Capitol.
4 p.m.
The National Guard mobilizes 1,100 troops. As per KSTP News, Pentagon officials say the D.C. request for troops wasn’t rejected earlier in the day, but troops can’t be used in a law enforcement role. They need to be deployed to replace police in different roles. The freed up officers can then join the law enforcement action.
4:10 p.m.
President-elect Joe Biden condemns the storming of the Capitol and calls on Trump to give a televised address.
4:17 p.m.
Trump posts a video on Twitter reiterating to his supporters that the election was stolen, but that there must be peace and they “have to go home now.” Shortly after, Twitter deletes the video.
JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
5 p.m.
A steady stream of people leave the Capitol premises. Some cite the curfew as the reason.
5:10 p.m.
Police use tear gas to drive people from the Capitol’s upper level.
5:40 p.m.
National Guard troops arrive
at the Capitol.
6 p.m.
Eleven glass jars suspected of being improvised bombs are found in a cooler in a vehicle near the Republican National Committee building.
SAMUEL CORUM/GETTY IMAGES
6:01 p.m.
Trump says in a tweet: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
8:06 p.m.
The Senate resumes proceedings.
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
