By Tristan Justice
Capitol police appeared to let a mass of Trump demonstrators right into the Capitol building at one entry point Wednesday after the crowd breached the perimeter surrounding the complex.
“I disagree with it but I respect what you’re trying to do,” one officer can be heard in the video.
Capitol police open doors for the protestors. They stand aside and invite them inside. pic.twitter.com/OnSd3KGzz5
— Christina Bobb (@christina_bobb) January 8, 2021
Brief skirmishes at other points of entry bought little time for people inside to prepare for the coming siege. Once police lines broke, security became overwhelmed at the size of the mob breaking through, with some of the rioters armed with a form of pepper spray. Clashes occurred at various entrances.
This video of the siege of the Capitol on TikTok is crazy and different than I had seen pic.twitter.com/JXwvKVLjxB
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) January 7, 2021
LATEST: Rioters tried to force entry again to the Capitol in #WashingtonDC at the building's north side.
More @business: https://t.co/e5cWYfDgmB pic.twitter.com/doe7b9s8yI
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) January 6, 2021
Here you can see one protester deploy pepper spray on Capitol Police prior to entry pic.twitter.com/vaS38IwVH4
— Richie🎥McG🍿 (@RichieMcGinniss) January 6, 2021
Attempts at breaking windows to gain entry to the Capitol Building #dcprotest #CapitolBuilding #SaveAmericaMarch pic.twitter.com/aDKKJsT0bg
— Hannah Nightingale (@HannahNighting) January 6, 2021
Here was one effort to force entry past the Capitol Police. pic.twitter.com/Fop2uLccL5
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) January 6, 2021
After breaching the Capitol complex, rioters smashed doors, shattered windows, ravaged offices, and breached both legislative chambers, interrupting congressional business and prompting members to hide or evacuate, culminating in some of the most devastating security failures since the War of 1812. Top officials charged with protecting the nation’s seat of government resigned in the aftermath, following top lawmakers’ demands to step down.