Rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as they sought to force Congress to undo President Donald Trump’s election loss generated widespread coverage around the world with one leader using Twitter to express his dismay.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Great Britain noted: “Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.”
Newspapers generally reported the facts surrounding the protest in a manner similar to this report published in the Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney, Australia, under the headline, “Insurrection: Biden calls storming of the Capitol an assault on liberty.”
“The U.S. Capitol descended into chaos after a massive security breach allowed a mob of rioters to enter the supposedly fortified complex, smashing through windows and making it as far as the Senate floor,” the Sydney Herald noted. “Trump posted a video on Twitter telling the protesters to go home but also repeated the false assertions that the election had been stolen which had inspired his supporters to storm the Capitol.”
It pointed out that President-elect Joe Biden demanded Trump go on national television to call for an end to the “insurrection” and quoted Biden as saying, “At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.”
Biden continued in his address to the nation: “An assault on the citadel of liberty – the Capitol itself – an assault on the people’s representatives and the Capitol Hill Police who protect them.”
“Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect the true America and do not reflect who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists. This is not dissent. It is disorder. It borders on sedition and it must end now.”
The Sydney Herald report added: “Dozens of Trump supporters were seen fighting with officers both inside the building and outside, with one making it as far of the dais of the chamber, where he shouted “Trump won this election.”
As police battled with protesters, the Department of Homeland Security said they were sending additional federal agents to the Capitol to help quell the violence while Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that [the commonwealth’s] National Guard and 200 state troopers were being sent to respond to the situation.
One Republican called the invasion of the building a coup attempt while other members of the party pleaded with President Donald Trump to accept the election result and finally end his baseless claims of widespread fraud.
Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the Senate, was taken to a secure location alongside other senior politicians.
The riot effectively stopped the process whereby Biden would be certified as the next president of the United States, which later resumed Wednesday evening and continued late into the night.