Trump Supporter Woman Shot Dead In Capitol Riot

Gedung Capitol (Eleven Photographs/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A woman, a supporter of the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump was reportedly killed after breaking into the Capitol Building, Washington DC. The capital is now in turmoil after Trump urged his supporters against an upcoming ceremonial count of electoral votes.

Citing CNN, Thursday, January 7, 2021, the woman died with a gunshot to the chest while in the courtyard of the Capitol Building, Washington DC police confirmed. Further information about the shooting was not immediately available. A police spokesman said additional details would be provided later.

Several officers were injured with at least one being transported to hospital. Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters broke through a barrier installed along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they clashed with riot officers.

Some called the officers "traitors" for doing their job. About 90 minutes later, police said the demonstrators broke into the building and the doors to the Building and Senate were locked. Shortly thereafter, the police evacuated.

US Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from a room where he played his part in counting electoral votes. In the afternoon at around 15.00 local time, police officers pointed a gun at someone who tried to break into it. A Trump supporter can also be seen standing on the Senate stage.

Smoke grenades were used on the side of the Senate Capitol, as police worked to clear the building of rioters. The window on the west side of the Senate had been broken, and hundreds of officers had gathered on the first floor of the building.

The Senate area was immediately secured from the rioters and an officer said they had succeeded in driving the rioters out of the Senate wing of the building and towards the Rotunda. Troops remove rioters from the East and West doors of the Capitol. It is unclear whether any of the individuals have been detained.

US Capitol Police work to secure the second floor of the Capitol first, before 17:00 local time. They pushed the demonstrators out of the stairs on the east side of the building about 30 minutes before 18:00 local time. At night, Washington DC police gathered in long lines to push the crowd back from the Capitol grounds.

The raid on the US Capitol Building was the first time since Britain attacked and burned the building in August 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarships and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society.

The shocking scene was greeted with less police force than the Black Lives Matter protests that rolled across the country after George Floyd's passing at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last year. When federal police attacked peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square outside the White House during the summer, it even paved the way for Trump to take photos at a nearby church at the time. Capitol protesters can instead storm the police and infiltrate the country's legislative building.