Timeline of the Pro-Trump Riots

Helene Burch, News Editor|January 6, 2021

provided by George F. Landegger on Picryl

Pro-Trump rioters descended on the Capitol building during the ceremonial counting of the Electoral votes.

  • Around 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, Trump held a rally in front of the White House. In the rally, Trump stated, “We will never concede” and “We won’t take it anymore,” according to WUSA9. The thousands of supporters marched from the rally to the capitol building. Supporters turned rioters then overtook the Capitol patio and surrounding area.
    Trump did not respond until around 3 p.m. with 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!”
  • At 3:18 p.m., rioters breached the capitol wall. A minute later, they were reported inside the senate wall.
  • Within the hour, Trump tweeted two responses, “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” and “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
  • By 3:28, rioters were cleared from the senate floor.
  • According to CNBC, at approximately 4:26 the White House called in the national guard.
  • At 4:30 p.m., two explosives in the District of Columbia were disarmed, reported CNN.
  • At approximately 4:32 p.m., Trump tweeted a 1 minute 1 second video response, “I know your pain, I know your hurt, we had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side, but you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law in order. We don’t want anyone hurt. It’s a very tough period of time, there’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hand of these people. We have to have peace. So go home, we love you, you’re very special. We’ve seen what happened, we’ve seen the way others are treated, that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.”
  • At 4:35 p.m., UK prime minister Boris Johnson called the rioting “disgraceful.”
  • At 5:01 p.m., congressional leaders were evacuated.
  • At 5:43 p.m., the Capitol building was announced as “secure” by law enforcement.
  • At 6:01 p.m., Trump tweeted his final response, “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!”
  • At 6:02 p.m., former president George W. Bush stated, “This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic.”
  • At 6:56 p.m., Twitter disabled replies, retweets, or likes on Trump’s last two tweets “due to a risk of violence.”
  • At 7:10 p.m., Twitter Safety has locked the account of @RealDonaldTrump for 12 hours and called for the removal of three tweets, if the tweets are not deleted the account will remain locked, according to NBC.
  • Currently, rioters are in the surrounding area of the Capitol building behind a line of police in riot gear.