United States Capitol

US authorities have revealed possible plans by extremists for another attack on the Capitol this Thursday. "We have received intelligence showing possible plans by an identified militia to infiltrate the Capitol on Thursday, 4 March," Capitol Police in Washington wrote in a statement. Police were prepared for possible threats against members of Congress or the Capitol complex, it said. The Capitol Police did not say who exactly had planned the attack.

On Wednesday evening, the US House of Representatives brought forward a vote scheduled for this Thursday. A House spokeswoman confirmed that there would be no more votes this session week after Wednesday night. The Washington Post reported that the Senate - the other chamber in Congress - still planned to meet at the Capitol on Thursday.

says Congress will establish an "outside, independent" commission to investigate "the facts and causes" of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters, so US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"As we prepare for the Commission, it is also clear from General Honoré's interim reporting that we must put forth a supplemental appropriation to provide for the safety of Members and the security of the Capitol," Pelosi wrote.

Jessica Watkins, the leader of American far-right anti-government militia organization Oath Keepers who planned and led the US Capitol siege, "indicated that she was awaiting direction from President Trump", the Justice Department reports.

The filing states: "As the inauguration grew nearer, Watkins indicated that she was awaiting direction from President Trump. Her concern about taking action without his backing was evident in a November 9, 2020, text in which she stated, 'I am concerned this is an elaborate trap. Unless the POTUS himself activates us, it’s not legit. The POTUS has the right to activate units too. If Trump asks me to come, I will. Otherwise, I can’t trust it.'"

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went live on Instagram on Monday, recounting the events of the Capitol insurrection on January 6.

Ocasio-Cortez said she was and her legislative director were in her office when they heard "huge violent bangs" on the door and she then hid in the bathroom behind the door.

"I start to hear these yells of 'Where is she, where is she?' and I just thought to myself, they got inside. This was the moment where I thought everything was over," Ocasio-Cortez said. It later turned out that the man banging on her door was a Capitol Police officer.

In a national terrorism bulletin warning, the US Department of Homeland Security warned of heightened domestic terror threat across the United States following the attacks on the US capitol on January 6.

"Throughout 2020, Domestic Violent Extremists (DVEs) targeted individuals with opposing views engaged in First Amendment-protected, non-violent protest activity. DVEs motivated by a range of issues, including anger over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results, and police use of force have plotted and on occasion carried out attacks against government facilities," the bulletin read. "DHS is concerned these same drivers to violence will remain through early 2021 and some DVEs may be emboldened by the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to target elected officials and government facilities."

Sen. Thomas R. Carper has introduced a bill to provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union, meaning if passed, the US capital would become the 51st state of the United States.

Only five Republican senators voted with the 50 Democrats to continue the impeachment proceedings against the former American president Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection" at the US Capitol. The other GOP members considered it unconstitutional, making a conviction unlikely as it would take two-thirds of Senators (67 in total) to convict Trump.

Joseph Biggs, one of the leaders of the far-right group Proud Boys, was arrested in Florida for his role in the insurrection of the US Capitol. He faces charges of obstruction of a proceeding, entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor that President Donald Trump helped provoke the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, blaming the president directly for the attack on the Capitol.

"The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people," so McConnell.

A study by the US Crisis Monitor based on around 13,000 demonstrations across the US since April 2020 shows that the police use force three times more often on left than right-wing demonstrators.

Barack Obama used this data in a statement to justify why Trump supporters were not stopped at the Capitol: The use of police force against predominantly white demonstrators is now demonstrably significantly reduced.

The United States House has voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump. The resolution has been brought to a vote following the storming of the Capitol building.

A third member of Congress has tested positive for COVID-19 after the Capitol lockdown according to journalist Kyle Griffin. He quotes Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider: "I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife's health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers."

The New York State Bar Association is opening an inquiry into removing Rudy Giuliani from its membership over his role in inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Giuliani has continuously spread baseless claims and conspiracy theories about the election despite no evidence of voter fraud.

The Bar Association said Monday it has received hundreds of complaints about Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney and the former mayor of New York City. "Mr Giuliani's words quite clearly were intended to encourage Trump supporters unhappy with the election's outcome to take matters into their own hands," the association said in its statement.

Parler, a social network used to plan the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week, has been hit by a massive data scrape. Security researchers collected user data before the network went dark Monday morning after Amazon, Google, and Apple booted the platform.

Lead by Twitter user @donk_enby, a team of security researchers began the work of archiving all of Parler’s posts, ultimately capturing around 99.9 per cent of its content.

The scraped data includes user profile data and information, raw media files -- including geolocation metadata -- and posts, including deleted ones.

In the wake of the pro-Trump supporters breaching the security of and storming into the Capitol, Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger has called for the use of the Constitution's 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, saying the nation's chief executive has become "unmoored" from reality.

In addition, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has stated that America would be “better off” if President Donald Trump would resign or be removed from office.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has published a statement, asking for "information related to violent activity at the U.S. Capitol Building" that happened on Wednesday while the US Senate was to certify the Electoral College results.

"The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, DC. The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021," the statement reads. "If you have witnessed unlawful violent actions, we urge you to submit any information, photos, or videos that could be relevant at fbi.gov/USCapitol. [...] You may also call ‪1-800-CALL-FBI (1-‪800-225-5324) to verbally report tips and/or information related to this investigation."

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday addressed the aftermath of the U.S. Capitol riots on Twitter, condemning the violence and calling it "one of the darkest days in the history of our nation, an unprecedented assault on our nation."

"What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent. It was not a disorder. It was not a protest. It was chaos. They weren't protesters. Don't dare call them protesters. They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It's that basic. It's that simple," so Biden, adding that Trump "unleashed an all-out assault on our institutions of our democracy from the outset. And yesterday was the culmination of that unrelenting attack" and was "trying to use a mob to silence the voices of nearly 160 million Americans."

"No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they would have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that's true. And it's unacceptable. Totally unacceptable," Biden continued.

Addressing his Justice Department nominees, Biden says: "You won't work for me. You are not the president or the vice president's lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me. It's to the law. The Constitution. The people of this nation."

Following the violent protests of Pro-Trump supporters at the US Capitol Wednesday, current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement saying the events represent "a massive failure" of "institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government" and calls for a "painstaking investigation and thorough review."

"Yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," so McConnell said. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place, and significant changes must follow. Initial bipartisan discussions have already begun among committees of oversight and Congressional Leadership."

Various Trump administration staffers resigned following the violent protests of Pro-Trump supporters at the US Capitol Wednesday.

Among those who resigned are President Donald Trump's former acting chief of staff and U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger, White House social secretary Anna Cristina "Rickie" Niceta, White House Council of Economic Advisers Tyler Goodspeed and First Lady Melania Trump's chief of staff and a former press secretary to the president Stephanie Grisham.

Political leaders across the globe, have expressed their concern and shock as Pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol and condemned the violence happening on the day the US Senate was to certify the Electoral College results.

"The right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob," so Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and said she and her countrymen were "devastated" by the events.

Leader of the nationalist League party in Italy, Matteo Salvini, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump, said on Twitter that "violence is never the solution" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India called for an "orderly and peaceful transfer of power."