Thread by @Telegraph

How the tragic, horrifying riots in Congress happened

telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/0…

📌 A clenched fist, and a call for action 📌

At midday President Trump addresses his supporters at a rally near the White House. He tells the crowd he wants his vice president, Mike Pence, to do "the right thing" and refuse to recognise Joe Biden as the election winner

📌 Make your voices heard 📌

Trump urges his fans to march on the Capitol building "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" ahead of the certification process. The crowds, many wearing Make America Great Again baseball caps, descend on the Capitol

📌 The mob closes in 📌

Just after 2pm, the mob breaks through. A protester, wearing a horned hat, climbs scaffolding that was being erected ahead of Mr Biden’s inauguration ceremony in two weeks time, to gain entry to the Capitol precinct. Police are overwhelmed

📌 Confederate flags in the Capitol 📌

By 2.15pm, the mob has gained entry into the building, flooding through smashed windows and broken doors. Waving confederate and 'Trump is President' flags, they rampage through the corridors and along staircases

📌 Terrified Congressman runs for cover 📌

In scenes nobody ever thought possible in America, lawmakers in the House Chamber run for cover, dashing from the floor as the rioters threaten to break in

📌 Guns drawn, the standoff begins 📌

Two police officers in plain clothes draw pistols and aim their weapons at the 'insurrectionists' now trying to smash their way into the House Chamber. Through the broken glass, a Trump supporter is just inches from the barrel of the guns

📌 Barricaded in their offices, staff take cover 📌

Congress staff members create a barricade. They wear masks to protect themselves from Covid-19 and teargas fired by police, an easy way to distinguish them from the Trump mob

📌 Feet up on Nancy Pelosi's desk 📌

Rioters break into the office of Nancy Pelosi, the US House Speaker and bete noire of Trump. He appears to be taking a selfie and doesn't bother to disguise his identity

📌 Insurrection in full flight 📌

In the Senate Chamber, a mob member sits in the chair of the Senate leader Mitch McConnell, a republican senator, who earlier in the day had warned fellow republicans not to attempt to reject the Biden victory

📌 The SWAT team swarms the building 📌

In a three-hour battle, armed police begin to regain control of the Capitol. One Congress staff member puts up his hands to avoid being mistaken for a Trump protester as SWAT teams comb through the building

📌 A shaken Biden urges Trump to stop the siege 📌

At 4pm Joe Biden addresses the nation, calling on Trump to "defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege." The president-elect calls the uprising an "insurrection"

📌 Trump calls off the dogs 📌

In response, President Trump posts a pre-taped message on social media, requesting his supporters leave the building. He tells the rioters he "loves" them and again repeats the false claim the election was "stolen" from him

📌 A chilling warning 📌

Back in Nancy Pelosi’s office, the mob has left a chilling message scrawled on a file. It reads, "We will not back down"

📌 Taking back control 📌

Congressman Andy Kim helps in the clear up operation inside the Capitol's rotunda. He is aided by officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, deployed as part of the team to regain control

📌 Democracy returns 📌

Work resumes in the process of ratifying the Electoral College votes. Senate staff carry the Electoral College from the Senate Chamber to the House Chamber as part of the normally mundane process of agreeing the next president

📌 A new dawn, and a new president 📌

In the early hours of Thursday, Vice President Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi read the final certification after working through the night, confirming once and for all that Joe Biden will be the next president

📌 Calm, under curfew 📌

A curfew was imposed overnight, and a state of emergency will remain in place until January 21, to cover the inauguration