Elections
D.C. Updates: Capitol lockdown ends after deadly riot, curfew in place
Updated
Pro-Trump rioters have swarmed the grounds and buildings of Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon following President Donald Trump‘s rally in front of the White House and Vice President Mike Pence‘s refusal to overturn President-elect Joe Biden‘s 2020 victory at the day’s scheduled tallying of Electoral Colleges votes casts by the states.
RELATED: BREAKING: Pence defies Trump’s calls to overturn Biden’s victory
Congressional offices were first told to evacuate and to head down to the underground tunnels in order to escape the ensuing chaos. The Capitol was later on complete lockdown as rioters have breached the building, broken windows, and enter the Congressional chambers.
The Sergeant at Arms later cleared the Capitol, but the building is reportedly back on lockdown, according to congressional sources.
There are also reports that a woman was shot, a D.C. paramedic source told Fox 5 D.C.’s Lindsay Watts. Officials told the station that the individual was transported to a local hospital, where she was reportedly later pronounced dead.
As the nation and the world watch this situation unfold, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced at 3:29 pm (ET) that he’s sending Virginia National Guard members to the District of Columbia as well as 200 state troopers, per D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) request. Trump will also be deploying the National Guard and other federal law enforcement officers, per White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Bowser has also implemented a 6:00 pm curfew Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, explosive devices were reportedly discovered at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees and the buildings were evacuated, sources told The New York Times. Both buildings are situated a few blocks away from the U.S. Capitol.
The Times reports that the device found at the RNC, a pipe bomb, was successfully destroyed by a bomb squad, according to an RNC official.
The device discovered at the DNC, a top Democrat briefed on the situation told The Times, has yet to be identified.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she had evacuated her office and reported that the rioters were assaulting Capitol Police, including a video in her tweet of a clash between them in a congressional building.
The Capitol Police couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. The story will be updated if and when one is received.
Jennie Taer contributed to this report.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
Elections
Biden’s Poor Polling and Harris’ Low Electability Rating Could Have Democrats Considering ‘Nuclear Option’
Behind-the-scenes discussion of how Democrats could arrive at a third option for the next election is underway
With polls consistently showing a poor approval rating for President Joe Biden at below 40 percent, and a recent poll put Kamala Harris’ electability at only 28 percent, Democrats are in full panic mode.
“Behind-the-scenes discussion of how Democrats could arrive at a third option for the next election is underway. Operatives are preparing for the possibility of a contested presidential primary in which other would-be nominees take on Ms. Harris, but that could be damaging for the party” reports the Telegraph.
Therefore, Democrats are allegedly whispering about a potential “nuclear option” that would call for current Vice President Harris to be nominated to the Supreme Court. The Telegraph writes that “while the scenario is highly improbable, and perhaps a reflection of a Washington rumor mill in overdrive, the fact it has come up at all shows the depths of the predicament the Biden administration currently finds itself in, amid rising inflation, a stalled domestic agenda, and foreign policy disasters.”
The theory in question would call for President Biden to nominate Harris to the Supreme Court in the event a seat opens in the next three years during his administration. Biden could then use “Section 2 of the 25thAmendment to nominate a more popular vice president”, adds the Telegraph.
Under Section 1 of the 25th Amendment, that new vice president could assume the presidency if Biden were to step down while president. They would then become the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election. That same individual could also be the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2024 if Biden chooses not to run for re-election.
One piece of information that is wetting Democrats’ whistle is that current Supreme Court Justice Breyer has said he does not “want to stay on the Supreme Court until I die.”
The Telegraph notes that “the discussion over potential successors to Mr. Biden is highly unusual less than a year into an administration.”
-
COVID-1914 hours agoUPDATE: Video of Australian Woman Shows Balcony She Cannot Leave at COVID Detention Facility
-
Nation2 days ago
Virginia Public Schools Reinstates Two Books Despite Complaints of Pedophilia and Pornography
-
Podcast3 days ago
How China’s Data Mining Threatens You
-
Nation3 days ago
Alec Baldwin Lowest of the Low; Blames Victim For Shooting ‘Everything is at her Direction’
