U.S. Capitol Riots: What To Expect In Coming Days

WASHINGTON, DC — Wednesday was a day unlike any other in recent U.S. history.

In Washington, D.C., five people lost their lives as thousands of angry rioters forced members of Congress into hiding within the U.S. Capitol. Offices were ransacked, and the constitutionally mandated congressional tally of Electoral College votes stopped for more than six hours.

In a show of solidarity and strength, Congress pressed on, certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election win in the early morning hours Thursday while a majority also decried President Donald Trump’s incitement of violence by Wednesday’s angry mob.

As a country processes what happened Wednesday, many are wondering what comes next.

RELATED: House Pushes For Trump's Quick Impeachment After Capitol Siege

On Thursday, Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the Nov. 3 election. Through a White House aide, Trump announced on Twitter that Americans can expect an “orderly transition" on Jan. 20.

“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” Trump added.

While we can now anticipate a peaceful transition, many wonder if we can also expect an end to the rhetoric, accusations and unrest. Here’s what we’re watching as the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency plays out:

Lawmakers Look To Hold Someone Accountable

Officials were quick to finger-point following Wednesday’s melee, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have vowed to follow through with an investigation into how law enforcement handled the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, who chairs a committee that oversees the Capitol Police budget, said Wednesday night that he expects officials to be fired, the Washington Post reported.

“There was not supposed to be anyone near the Capitol. You would be reasonably close, to be able to protest and express your view, but nobody belongs on the Capitol plaza, nobody ever goes on the Capitol steps, that is an illegal act. … Those were illegal acts, and those people should have been immediately arrested,” Ryan told reporters via Zoom.

To many watching, the building — which has its own 2,000-officer police department, as many officers as departments in Atlanta or Cleveland — seemed easily penetrable on Wednesday.

While some officers struggled to hold back protesters, others were captured on video appearing to stand back as rioters streamed inside, according to the Post. At least one posed for a selfie with a Trump supporter.

Five people died during Wednesday’s chaos, one of whom was shot by police officers trying to stop crowds from further penetrating the building. Another was a Capitol Police officer.

By Friday, more than 80 people had been arrested — a significantly low number when compared with the 289 people arrested during June 1 protests related to the death of George Floyd. Thirteen people are facing federal charges. At least 40 will be tried in D.C. Superior Court.

RELATED: Arrests Made As Authorities Seek More Suspects In Capitol Riots

So, what went wrong?

While D.C. police patrol the streets around the Capitol, they usually play no part in protecting the building itself, the Post reported. The Capitol Police was short some officers Wednesday due to coronavirus infection or exposure.

Three days prior to the insurrection, the Pentagon asked Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower, according to an AP report. Additionally, Justice Department leaders reached out on Wednesday to offer the help of FBI agents. The Capitol Police turned them down both times, senior defense officials and others familiar with the situation told The AP.

Some — including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser — are now accusing Capitol Police and other federal agencies of underestimating the potential threat by Trump supporters.

"Obviously it was a failure, or you would not have had people enter the Capitol by breaking windows and terrorizing the members of Congress who were doing a very sacred requirement of their jobs,” Bowser said.

RELATED: How Federal Response At Capitol Differed From June Protests

'Catastrophic Failure' At US Capitol Must Be Investigated: Mayor

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, told The Associated Press the breach “raises grave security concerns.″ Her committee will work with House and Senate leaders to review the police response and preparedness, she added.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund's resignation. Hours later, the Washington Post reported that Sund is planning to resign following Wednesday's melee. The sergeants at arms of the House and Senate that oversee the police and security at the complex are also expected to be removed, The AP reported.

Earlier on Thursday, Sund defended his department's response to the attack. In a release, the chief of Capitol Police said the department had a “robust plan” established to deal with potential protests and that officers “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions” as they stormed the building.

The attack on the Capitol was “unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.,'' Sund, a former city police officer, said in the statement. ”Make no mistake: These mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the officers were heroic given the situation they faced.''

Sund said 18 local, state and federal agencies as well as the National Guard helped respond to the siege. He also said more than 50 Capitol and D.C. police officers were injured.

The statement itself shed no additional light on how rioters were able to gain access to the Capitol.

Talk Of Impeachment, Possible Charges Permeate Capitol Hill

Just hours after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota tweeted that she was drawing up Articles of Impeachment against President Trump.

"Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate. We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."

In December 2019, Trump became the third president to be impeached by the U.S. House. However, he was acquitted by the Senate the following February.

By Friday, House Democrats were meeting by phone to discuss introducing Articles of Impeachment as early as next week. The meeting followed calls by Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for Trump’s immediate removal from office, either through invoking the 25th Amendment or by impeachment.

Describing the violence at the Capitol on Wednesday, Schumer called it “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also tweeted for Trump to be impeached, becoming one of the first lawmakers from the upper chamber of Congress to do so, USA Today reported.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) tweeted that Trump “should immediately be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate as soon as Congress reconvenes.”

"I'm in," Rep. Kai Kahele (D-HI) agreed with Pressley.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) simply tweeted: "Impeach."

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Thursday morning became the first Republican lawmaker to call for invoking the 25th Amendment, urging Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Cabinet to remove the president from office.

In a video posted on Twitter, Kinzinger said, "It's with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked.

"Here's the truth," Kinzinger added. "The president caused this. The president is unfit, and the president is unwell." He also said Trump is "unmoored not only from his duty but from reality itself" and that what happened Wednesday should be a wake-up call for the Republican Party.

RELATED: 'The President Is Unfit:' Kinzinger Calls For 25th Amendment

Many lawmakers and leaders are also pushing for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which provides a formal process for removing a president when others believe he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

The head of the National Association of Manufacturers called on Pence to trigger the amendment, as did the head of the left-leaning advocacy group Public Citizen, the head of the NAACP and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, according to USA Today.

To invoke the amendment, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet must declare the president unable to carry out the duties of his office. If the president disputes the determination, two-thirds of both the House and the Senate must vote to put the vice president in charge.

In addition, lawmakers can designate through legislation an alternative group — other than the Cabinet — that the vice president could work with to declare a president unable to serve.

The section of the amendment able to remove a president from office has never been used.

Meanwhile, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia says “all options are on the table” for charges against the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, including sedition and the role President Trump played in inciting the crowd.

Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for D.C., told news outlets on Thursday that prosecutors plan to file 15 federal cases on Thursday for crimes including unauthorized access and theft of property. Investigators are also combing through scores of evidence to bring additional charges.

Sherwin said 40 other cases had already been charged in a District of Columbia superior court.

Trump Staffers Are Jumping Ship. More Will Likely Follow.

Wednesday’s riot against the Capitol and the president’s response to it proved to be the final straws for a number of members of the Trump administration.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao became the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to resign following the prior day’s events, CNN reported. In a statement to the agency she led, Chao wrote that she was "deeply troubled" by the events at the Capitol building.

She was followed Thursday evening by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who submitted her resignation effective Friday, according to The New York Times and others. DeVos cited the "violent protesters" whose "behavior was unconscionable" but added, “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”

Mick Mulvaney, former White House chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget, also resigned from his post as U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland.

In an interview with CNBC, Mulvaney said he told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “I can’t do it. I can’t stay.”

“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in,” Mulvaney said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He added that Trump was “not the same as he was eight months ago.”

Two of first lady Melania Trump’s top aides resigned Wednesday night, according to CNN. Stephanie Grisham, a longtime Trump family loyalist who served as White House press secretary and most recently as the first lady’s chief of staff; and Anna Cristina Niceta, the White House social secretary, separately announced their resignations.

Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews also announced her resignation, saying she was honored to serve the Trump administration but “deeply disturbed” by the storming of the Capitol.

A trio of other senior White House aides — national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell — were also contemplating resigning, three senior administration officials told The Washington Post.

We’ll Hear Less From President Trump

Social media giants Twitter and Facebook took unprecedented steps this week to quiet Trump and his fabricated claims surrounding the 2020 election.

Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours on Wednesday, adding that future violations could result in a permanent suspension. In order for Trump to regain access to his account, Twitter required the removal of three of Trump's tweets, including a short video in which he urged those supporters to “go home” while also repeating falsehoods about the integrity of the presidential election.

True to its word, Twitter lifted the ban on Trump’s account Thursday morning once the tweets in question were deleted, but it also said it would heighten enforcement of platform rules and suspend the president permanently if he continues to disregard them.

On Friday, Twitter stayed true to its word, suspending Trump's account permanently "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

Twitter made the decision "after close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter," the statement read.

During his presidency, Trump has used social media to spread falsehoods about election integrity, the results of the presidential race and other key issues. Platforms such as Facebook have occasionally labeled or even removed some of his posts, but the overall response has failed to satisfy a growing number of critics who say the platforms have enabled the spread of dangerous misinformation, AP reported.

Facebook, however, took a more aggressive stance Thursday. In a statement posted to his personal page, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was banning Trump from using the platform “indefinitely.”

“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

RELATED: Facebook Bans Trump Indefinitely

Initially, Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns, banned Trump from posting for 24 hours.

Far-Right Groups May Be Emboldened By Riot

A lot is still unknown on who participated in Wednesday’s riot; however, reports say the mob included conspiracy theorists linked to QAnon and the Proud Boys — two right-wing extremist factions that Trump has repeatedly refused to condemn.

One activist who was at Capitol on Wednesday was Tim Gionet, who livestreamed video of himself inside the building for more than 25 minutes, CNN reported. Gionet, a prominent extremist voice who goes by the pseudonym "Baked Alaska" online, attended the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

One thing is clear: Signs of violence were missed earlier in the week. Trump supporters had been “openly planning for weeks on both mainstream social media and the pro-Trump internet” to riot in D.C., according to reports.

Joe Lowndes, a University of Oregon political science professor who's written extensively on right-wing politics, told the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon, that he’s worried about potential long-term effects from Wednesday’s events.

Following the riot, online forums popular with Trump supporters lit up with gleeful posts about the chaotic scenes broadcast from the Capitol, The AP reported. Thousands of messages on Parler, a right-wing alternative to Twitter and Facebook, included the hashtag #civilwar or other variations of the term.

Lowndes called the riots an “extraordinarily emboldening moment for the far right” and will likely push people into a “more insurrectionary mindset.”

He also said the mild police response at the Capitol could further embolden the groups.

“These people could turn the Capitol into a playground, a kind of paramilitary cosplay, and they will not have suffered any real consequences,” Lowndes said.