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Washington, DC on Wednesday saw a “dark day” in the history of American democracy, during which the world saw unprecedented scenes as supporters of the outgoing US president stormed the Congress building.
Large crowds of protesters against President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election broke through the security barriers surrounding Congress, while discussing the official documentation of Biden’s victory, and seized a platform set up for his inauguration, after clashes with the police, and they managed to storm the building.
Clashes, bullets and tear gas … unprecedented scenes in a country that is a model in the smooth transition of power, while it was notable that some protesters wore strange costumes and raised flags dating from the time of the American Civil War.
Washington Police Department Chief Robert Conte said 4 people died in Congress on Wednesday and 52 were arrested.
American political denunciation
And American politicians harshly criticized the protesters’ behavior, as Biden said in a speech: “American democracy is under unprecedented attack, and Trump must appear on the air and demand an end to the blockade of Congress.”
He added: “The scenes in the Congress building amount to incitement and should be stopped immediately.”
For his part, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the irruption of several supporters of his close ally, Trump, into the headquarters of Congress, saying in a tweet on Twitter that electoral violence “cannot be tolerated” neither in the United States nor abroad.
For his part, Vice President Mike Pence opened the Senate session, which was reconvened after the expulsion of the protesters and the seizure of Congress, denouncing “acts of violence” and expressing his regret for this “dark day.”
“Even after the unprecedented acts of violence and sabotage in this Capitol building,” Pence said, “here are the elected representatives of the American people meeting again on the same day to defend the constitution.”
And members of the US Congress described the storming of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters as an “attempted coup.”
Democratic Rep. William Baskrell tweeted: “We are witnessing an attempted coup with the encouragement of the White House criminal. But the attempt is doomed to failure. “
“This is not a demonstration, it is an attempted coup,” said Deputy Diana Degeti, denouncing “the chaos planned by the president.”
Former President of the United States, Democrat Bill Clinton, said in a statement: “Today we have faced an unprecedented assault on the Capitol, our constitution and our country.”
And Clinton considered that this attack “was fueled by 4 years of poisonous policies.”
He added: “The fuse was lit by Donald Trump and his most enthusiastic supporters, many of them in Congress, with the aim of canceling the electoral results he lost.”
For his part, former US President Barack Obama, a Democrat, called the violence witnessed by the Capitol building on Wednesday when supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump assaulted it “shameful” but not “surprising.”
“History will remember the violence that took place on Capitol Hill today, incited by a president who relentlessly lied about the election result, as a time of shame and disgrace for our country,” Obama said in a statement.
He added: “We will be deceived if we say that what happened was a complete surprise”, blaming the leaders of the Republican Party and the media loyal to them because “many times they were not willing to tell the truth to their followers” that Biden won a great victory. in the elections that took place on February 3. November, in which Trump still refuses to acknowledge defeat.
Banana republics
Former US Republican President George W. Bush launched a violent attack on Republican leaders who “fueled the state of rebellion” in the Capitol building on Wednesday.
“This is how the electoral results are questioned in the banana republics, but not in our democratic republic,” Bush said in a statement.
He added: “I have been horrified by the irresponsible behavior of some political leaders since the elections and the lack of respect that was shown towards our institutions, traditions and security forces.”
Scenes from the interior of the congress hall pic.twitter.com/CZN6nZCseS
– US Elections (America Today) 🇺🇸 (@ choice2020P) January 7, 2021
America’s allies are shocked
Many of America’s Western allies condemned the assault by protesters supporting Donald Trump, the seat of Congress, and called for respect for the outcome of the presidential election, which Joe Biden won.
“Shocking scenes in Washington,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted, adding that “the outcome of this election must be respected.”
The Chancellor of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said that what happened in the Capitol was an “assault on American democracy.”
“In the eyes of the world, American democracy appears to be under siege tonight,” he wrote on Twitter.
He added: “This is an unprecedented attack on American democracy, its institutions and the rule of law. This is not America. The results of the elections must be fully respected ”.
For his part, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, described what the Capitol witnessed as “extremely disturbing” and called for “the need to respect democratic electoral votes.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described what happened on Capitol Hill as “shameful scenes”, calling for a peaceful transfer of power to Biden.
Johnson said on Twitter: “Shameful scenes in the US Congress. The United States supports democracy around the world and now it is important to have a peaceful and orderly transition of power. “
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter: “The United States is really proud of its democracy and there can be no justification for these violent attempts to thwart the peaceful and legal transfer of power.”
Trampling democracy
In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on Trump supporters to “stop trampling on democracy.”
“Trump and his supporters must finally accept the decision of the American electorate and stop trampling on democracy,” Maas wrote on Twitter.
He added: “Enemies of democracy will be happy to see these horrible images from Washington,” warning that “incendiary rhetoric turns into acts of violence.”
In turn, Olaf Schultz, German Finance Minister and Deputy Chancellor Angela Merkel, condemned the “disturbing scenes” in Washington and said the assault on the Capitol was an “intolerable assault on democracy.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the entry of Trump supporters into the Capitol building a “grave violation of democracy” and stressed that “the desire of the American people must be respected.”
For his part, the president of the French National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, expressed his solidarity with the American parliamentarians who were forced to stop the approval session of Biden’s election after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described what happened in the US capital with “horrible” scenes, and asked Trump to “immediately recognize that Joe Biden is the next president.”
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tweeted: “I know that many, like me, watch the scenes unfolding in Washington with great anxiety and panic.”
But Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney went further by holding Trump personally responsible for what was happening.
Coveney said on Twitter: “Very horrible and sad scenes in Washington that we must call what they are: a deliberate assault on democracy by a sitting president and his supporters, in an attempt to cancel free and fair elections.”
In turn, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, described the assault on the Capitol as “a totally unacceptable attack on democracy in the United States.”
She added: “Scary images. It’s amazing that this is the United States. “
Hundreds of supporters of United States President Donald Trump stormed the Congress building on Wednesday, seeking to force lawmakers to reverse the president’s electoral defeat, occupy the symbol of American democracy, and force Congress to temporarily postpone a session to ratify the victory of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden.
Police deactivated weapons and fired tear gas as they evacuated lawmakers from the building and fought for more than 3 hours to evacuate the building from Trump supporters who stormed the hallways in shocking, chaotic scenes.
Hajj pilgrims dropped barriers and clashed with the police, as thousands streamed into congressional squares.
Police announced that the Congress building was secured after 5:30 pm (22:30 GMT) and members resumed the meeting shortly after 8:00 pm (01:00 GMT today, Thursday) to continue the process of certification of election results.
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