Just minutes before 2 p.m., Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund receives reports that the Trump supporters (a.k.a. terrorists because this is domestic terrorism) outside the Capitol have reached the doors and are trying to break in. Five minutes into the new hour, Trump supporter Kevin Greeson is declared dead after suffering a heart attack on the Capitol grounds.
At 2:10 p.m., House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving calls Chief Sund. Irving has received approval to request assistance from the National Guard. A minute later, a terrorist breaks through a Capitol building window, enters, and opens a door to let the mob in.
Terrorists breach the Capitol, running through the building with their Confederate Flags, Q Anon memorabilia, Nazi slogans, and firearms. Some shout “Where are they?” outside the Senate doors. Others carry handcuff-style zip ties. It is the first time since 1812 that any group has invaded the Capitol building.
Vice President Mike Pence is removed from the Senate chamber to a nearby office, and the Senate enters a recess. Only a minute later, terrorists run past the office Pence is in and arrive at the entrance to the Senate. Federal Protective Service officers report that the Capitol has been breached, and Nancy Pelosi is escorted from the House chamber. The building goes on lockdown.
Journalists, lawmakers, and others inside the Capitol are given instructions from Capitol police. A security alert blares through the building, warning people to stay away from doors and windows. Legislators and press inside the chambers are told to put on gas masks and hide under tables and chairs. Officers begin forming barricades inside and outside the House chamber with furniture and anything available. Lawmakers who served in the military prepare their colleagues and try to keep them calm.
What I felt in the Capitol… is something that I haven’t felt since I was in Afghanistan.
Rep. Jason Crow
At 2:20 p.m., the House begins to evacuate. Minutes later, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is on the phone with Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio, D.C. Homeland Security Director Christopher Rodriguez, and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The officials request request support from the D.C. National Guard a second time. They still don’t know that Trump’s Defense Dept. has banned McCarthy from sending in armed guardsmen.
Outside the Capitol, terrorist Julian Elie Khater sprays a chemical weapon towards Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. The officer dies from a stroke the next day.
At 2:24 p.m., Donald Trump tweets about Mike Pence, saying Pence doesn’t have the courage to do what needs to be done “to protect our country.” Trump knows his army is inside the Capitol. The terrorists begin shouting for Mike Pence.
A minute later, McCarthy orders his staff to prepare the emergency reaction force, which should be ready for deployment by 2:45 p.m.
At 2:26 p.m., two phone calls are made. The first is from Donald Trump to Sen. Mike Lee. He means to call Sen. Tommy Tuberville but misdials, so he tells Lee to ask Tuberville to delay the vote certification. Lee passes the phone to Tuberville.
Tuberville spoke with Trump for less than 10 minutes, with the President trying to convince him to make additional objections to the Electoral College vote in a futile effort to block Congress’ certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, according to a source familiar with the call. The call was cut off because senators were asked to move to a secure location.
CNN
The second call is between Bowser, Rodriquez, Capitol Police chiefs, D.C. Metro Police chiefs, D.C. National Guard Maj. Gen. William Walker, and Army Sec. McCarthy’s office. Lt. Gen. Charles A. Flynn, the brother of former Trump official Michael Flynn who held his own pro-Trump rally the day before the attack, is also on the call.
Before the Army can deploy guardsmen, the Pentagon has to hear from Capitol Police and authorize the decision. Capitol Police Chief Sund requests “urgent, urgent, immediate” assistance. Army Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt argues that “the National Guard standing a police line with the Capitol in the background” is a bad visual. He tells Sund that he will not ask McCarthy to send guardsmen to the Capitol.
Bowser follows up with Virginia Public Safety Secretary Brian Moran, letting him know that the Dept. of Defense refuses to send help to the Capitol. Moran dispatches Virginia State Police.
The Washington Times, a conservative propaganda news outlet working with the Council for National Policy, publishes a fictional story claiming that a facial recognition company identified members of Antifa inside the Capitol. The company later refutes the story and threatens to sue the Times. The story is eventually corrected, but only after receiving 360,000 engagements on Facebook. (Also: Antifa is not one organization but many small, local organizations.)
By 2:30p.m., the number of terrorists inside the Capitol has escalated, and they’re trying to breach both chambers of Congress. Some lawmakers have not been evacuated yet. Some officers try to keep the terrorists in one location but are outnumbered. Other officers give the terrorists directions to Chuck Schumer’s office when asked.
Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who barred the Army from sending in armed guardsmen earlier in the week, meets with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Army Sec. McCarthy to discuss options.
At 2:38 p.m., Donald Trump tweets asking his people to support police in the Capitol. He tweets again about half an hour later asking them to be peaceful. According to White House staff, he is privately cheering them on. About this exact time, a group of terrorists are attempting to break into the House Chamber through the Speaker’s Lobby. Some legislators are still inside.
Sometime before Trump’s tweet, Rep. Kevin McCarthy called him and urged him to tell his supporters to stand down. The call did not go well.
“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy…
Trump’s comment set off what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men. A furious McCarthy told the then-President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, “Who the f–k do you think you are talking to?” according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call.
CNN
At 2:44 p.m., Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt tries climbing through a window and over a barricade to enter the Speaker’s Lobby, adjacent to the House chamber. Capitol Police and Secret Service on the other side order her to stop. Babbitt continues through the window and is shot. She never makes it out of the Capitol.
Moments later, the terrorists make their way into the House chamber through a different route. A reporter inside hears one yelling “Trump won that election” as others tear through the room looking for the electoral ballots in hopes of stealing or destroying them before they can be counted.
On another side of the building, terrorists have found a hanging carriage, possibly used for window washing and to raise / lower flags. They begin banging on windows, trying to break them. They also replace a U.S. flag on the building with a Trump campaign flag (because this is a coup).
Around 2:50 p.m., Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam uses all of his authority to send help to the Capitol, including the Virginia National Guard. The Defense Department refuses to grant permission for guardsmen to go to the Capitol. The DoD is filled with Trump loyalists (1) (2) (3) (4).
External Sources
Sources cited on Wikipedia’s timeline
https://twitter.com/igorbobic/status/1346898433689399297?s=20
https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1346911667653730311?s=20
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/08/politics/us-capitol-riots-arrest-pelosi-desk/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/12/politics/trump-mccarthy-shouting-match-details/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/politics/michael-flynn-brother-capitol-hill-riot/index.html
https://twitter.com/ariehkovler/status/1341016471795843080?s=20
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/podcasts/the-daily/capitol-mob-police-social-media.html?smid=tw-share
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a35142438/ivanka-trump-mob-american-patriots-tweet/
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/08/politics/mike-lee-tommy-tuberville-trump-misdialed-capitol-riot/index.html
https://www.today.com/video/rep-jason-crow-capitol-hill-riot-was-like-being-in-afghanistan-again-99131973618
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/08/the-journey-of-ashli-babbitt/
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/extremists-made-little-secret-ambitions-occupy-capital-weeks-attack-n1253499
https://twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1347942363340029953?s=20
https://twitter.com/evanchill/status/1347740315285905408?s=20
https://www.axios.com/off-the-rails-trump-capitol-siege-601f6ff0-7465-4da7-9669-4629fb14f477.html
https://www.thecut.com/2021/01/pramila-jayapal-surviving-capitol-riots.html
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmanuelfelton/black-capitol-police-racism-mob
Photo: Brett Davis
