Published 23:21 IST, January 12th 2021
Trump defends his speech after which supporters stormed US Capitol: 'Totally appropriate'
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, defended his speech last week in which he egged his his supporters to 'March onto Capitol Hill', reports AFP.
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In a shocking comment mere six days after his supporters stormed the Capitol building, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, defended his speech last week in which he egged his supporters to 'March onto Capitol Hill', reports AFP. Calling his speech 'totally appropriate', Trump also called the clampdown on his social media accounts as a 'catastrophic mistake'. He also lambasted the Democrat-controlled Congress for moving articles of impeachment, saying it was causing 'tremendous anger' and that the move was 'absolutely ridiculous', as per AFP.
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Trump defends his 'pre-riot' speech
House proceeds with impeachment
On Monday, the Democrat-controlled US Congress introduced formal articles of impeachment against the incumbent President, according to CNN. Charging Trump with "incitement of insurrection", with respect to the US Capitol riots, the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sought to vote on the articles by Wednesday. Hoyer had also moved a bill seeking Trump's ouster through the 25th Amendment- which can be invoked by US Vice President Mike Pence and other cabinet members, but was blocked by the House Republicans. Speaker Pelosi has sought Pence's response within 24 hours, once the bill is re-introduced on the floor, but Pence has refused to oust Trump. An emergency has been declared in Washington D.C till January 24, amid threats to the inaugural.
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US Capitol siege by Pro-Trump supporters
On Wednesday afternoon, thousands of Trump supporters broke barricades outside the Capitol, and marched into the building. Scaling walls using scaffolding and breaking windows to enter the building. Inside the building, rioters banged on doors, trying to push through doors and fought with police. As per reports, by 2 PM, Capitol Police ordered all staff, reporters and nearby senators into the Senate chamber, which was sealed off and put on lockdown. Visuals from inside the Capitol show the rioters inside US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, inside the Congress and Senate Hall as police officers deployed tear gas inside the building. After the building was secured, at least four people have died, 52 have been arrested and over a dozen police officers have been injured - two succumbed.
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Reports state that the siege on Capitol Hill occurred after President Trump had given a speech from the White House, urging protesters to march on the Capitol after making false claims of electoral fraud. In the face of a slew of resignations from White House staff and his cabinet, Trump condemned the attacks and stated that he will not be attending the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' inauguration ceremony on January 20. Twitter and Facebook have now permanently banned from the platform saying 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence'. Joe Biden was elected as the 46th US President on 7 November winning 306 electoral college votes to Trump's 232 and he also won the popular vote, with 51% of the votes - amassing 8,12,83,485 ballots.
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23:21 IST, January 12th 2021