Congress finalizes Biden's win after riot disrupts Capitol

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Melissa Mahtani, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 5:15 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
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3:29 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

GOP congressman to Trump: "Call it off. It's over. The election's over."

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, a veteran and supporter of President Trump, said pro-Trump rioters storming the Capitol is “insane.” 

“I’ve not seen anything like this since I deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. 

“The President needs to call it off … Call it off. It’s over. The election’s over. And the objectors need to stop meddling with the primal forces of our democracy here,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher is not in the Capitol but is “hunkered down” in his office, he said. 

Watch more:

3:29 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Woman treated for gunshot wounds on Capitol grounds

From CNN's Noah Gray

A woman is in critical condition after being shot in the chest on the Capitol grounds, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The sources could not provide further details on the circumstances of the shooting.

3:39 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

DC attorney general calls on Trump to tell supporters to immediately "cease and desist"

From CNN's Sonia Moghe

Alex Wong/Getty Images
Alex Wong/Getty Images

DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine called on President Trump to tell his supporters to immediately "cease and desist."

Reacting to protesters breaching the US Capitol Building, he issued a statement saying:

"We call on President Trump to immediately tell his supporters, who are trampling on the District of Columbia and have breached the U.S. Capitol, to cease and desist and return from whence they came in a peaceful manner. 
The United States of America is the world’s greatest democracy, and that rests on a peaceful transition of power. 
We urge President Trump to do what he has not yet done, but what he must do: order his supporters to leave the District of Columbia and fully embrace the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
In the midst of this unrest, all District residents must remain at home. Under no circumstances should anyone travel downtown nor be in the vicinity of federal buildings."

President Trump tweeted urging his supporters to remain "peaceful" but has not asked them to leave. 

See Racine's tweet:

3:34 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Republican congressman says China is "sitting back and laughing" at the US right now

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, said countries around the world are watching the storming of the Capitol play out in real-time and laughing at the US.

"If we don't think other countries around the world are watching this happen right now, if we don't think the Chinese communist party is sitting back and laughing, then we're deluding ourselves."

To Trump, Gallagher said, "Call it off! It's over. The election is over." 

3:30 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Team of local police officers from Maryland just arrived at US Capitol in riot gear

From CNN's Alex Marquardt reporting from Capitol Hill

Dozens of local police officers from Montgomery County, Maryland, just arrived at the US Capitol in riot gear.

They started pouring out of several vans and at least one armored vehicle on Constitution Ave. and are moving toward to the North side of the Capitol building.

CNN is reaching out to Montgomery County Police.

3:30 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Lawmakers "stunned" by breach at Capitol by protesters

From CNN's Jake Tapper and Maureen Chowdhury

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Amid a chaotic scene where protesters breached US Capitol building, CNN's Jake Tapper reports that lawmakers texted that they're "stunned" by the scene.

The building is currently under lockdown.

"I'm getting texts, as I'm sure Dana and Abby are as well, members of Congress, Trump supporters, Biden supporters, Democrats, Republicans, who are stunned. They have been told by Capitol police they have to shelter in place in their office. Is it because of a terrorist attack on the United States? It's because Trump supporters are violently in some cases forcing themselves into the United States Capitol, stopping the constitutional proceedings of the counting of the electoral votes for Joe Biden, the President-elect," Tapper said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, tweeted calling it a "coup attempt." He also denounced the protesters actions in a series of tweets and directly responded to President Trump. "You are not protecting the country," Kinzinger tweeted at Trump.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace tweeted that she had to evacuate her office. In a follow-up tweet Mace wrote, "This. Is. Insane."

Here are more reactions from Congress members about the breach and unrest:

3:30 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Senate and House leaders are safe and in an undisclosed location 

From CNN's Phil Mattingly

Papers and gas masks are left behind after House of Representatives members left the floor of the House chamber as protesters try to break into the chamber at the US Capitol on Wednesday.
Papers and gas masks are left behind after House of Representatives members left the floor of the House chamber as protesters try to break into the chamber at the US Capitol on Wednesday. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

House and Senate leadership are safe and in an undisclosed location, according to a person familiar.

A separate lawmaker says House members have been evacuated to a location that this source would not disclose. 

The US Capitol Police are working to secure the second floor of the Capitol first, and will then expand from there.

Outside the Capitol, the DC Metropolitan Police Department continues to mass, however no major move has been made yet toward the crowd. 

3:31 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Protester breaches chamber and sits in US Senate well

Igor Bobic/Huffington Post
Igor Bobic/Huffington Post

A photo taken by pool reporter Igor Bobic shows a protester inside the Senate chamber.

The Capitol is currently on lockdown, and police are trying to contain the escalating protests.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer and John King discuss. Watch:

3:31 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Pro-Trump rioters have stormed the Capitol. Here's what we know now.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Pro-Trump protesters have stormed the US Capitol, as members of Congress were meeting to certify the Electoral College results of the 2020 presidential election.

Video from inside the Capitol showed Trump supporters marching through Statuary Hall. The US Capitol Police is asking for additional law enforcement for assistance in containing the protests, including federal authorities, per a source familiar.

The protests and the breach are ongoing, but here's what we know so far:

  • How the protests started: Shortly after 1 p.m. ET hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they tussled with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers "traitors" for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building.
  • Evacuations ordered: Congress went into recess, halting the certification process, and the House floor was evacuated. Vice President Mike Pence, who was overseeing the vote on the Electoral College results, has also been evacuated.
  • DC will have a curfew tonight: Washington, DC, will be under a curfew starting at 6:00 p.m. ET, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced. It will remain in effect until 6:00 a.m. Thursday.
  • What Trump is saying: The President tweeted his reaction to the current scene unfolding on Capitol Hill. "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!" Earlier in the day, in the hours before the Capitol was breached, President Trump encouraged his supporters to protest at the US Capitol.