A crowd stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as weeks of unsubstantiated claims by President Donald Trump that the 2020 elections were stolen turned into a riot. The chaos that included several Reports These shots were fired when Congress convened to confirm the election results.
Trump, who had spoken to a supporter rally nearby, upset his fans, telling them, "We will never give up, we will never admit." The president also used Twitter to attack Vice President Mike Pence, who had previously done so made a statement He said he couldn't stop the constitutional number of votes in Congress.
"Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our constitution." Trump tweeted in a statement falsely claiming that fraudulent voices had been upheld by states. "USA demands the truth!" He continued. Twitter quickly described the tweet as controversial. The label has also been updated to reveal that users are unable to reply, retweet, or like the tweet "due to the risk of violence".
Facebook, which exempts politicians from fact-checking, added a label to Trump's post directing users to its election information center. Users can still share the flagged post after they see a notice reminding them to "View voting updates before sharing."
Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution, and gave states the opportunity to confirm a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones they had before had to certify. USA demands the truth!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Trump, who lost the US presidential election to former Vice President Joe Biden, has used Twitter and Facebook to bring unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud to his millions of supporters. The companies have flagged several tweets and posts from Trump, but critics say these efforts do little to stop the spread of misinformation that could lead to violence.
Social media companies also handle Trump's posts differently. Trump released a video calling on his supporters to "go home now". "We must have peace. We must have law and order," he said in the video, in which he also repeated false claims about election fraud. The video is still on Twitter, where it has been viewed more than 11 million times. Google's Facebook and YouTube pulled the video down.
Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president of integrity, said in a tweet the company removed Trump's video because "we believe it helps reduce rather than reduce the risk of persistent violence." YouTube cited a policy to remove new videos alleging fraud in the 2020 presidential election, as did Trump's video. YouTube rolled out the rule a month ago, essentially classifying Biden's win and Trump's loss as historical fact. YouTube said it would allow copies of the video to remain on the platform if presented in the context of "adequate educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic value".
On Wednesday, the social networks were asked more often to block Trump's account and step up against violent posts. Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Danielle Citron, Journalist Kara Swisher, Leslie Miley, CTO of the Obama Foundation, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League and others posted tweets asking Twitter to start Trump from the social media site.
"Now is the time to put Trump's account on hold," Citron tweeted. "He intentionally instigated violence and wreaked havoc with his lies and threats."
@Jack @ Twitter @ TwitterSafety As someone who has been a member of your Trust and Safety Board since its inception and has advised you since 2009, now is the time to put President Trump's account on hold. He intentionally instigated violence and wreaked havoc with his lies and threats.
- Danielle Citron (@daniellecitron) January 6, 2021
Twitter said in a statement it will crack down on tweets that violate its rules. "Let's be clear: threats and calls to violence have no place on Twitter and we will enforce our guidelines accordingly," the company said. (His tweets can be found Here.)
Facebook, which also has rules against inciting violence, has also been criticized for allowing Trump and his supporters to post false claims of election fraud on its website. Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower in Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, tweeted that the violence that broke out in the US Capitol was an "inevitable manifestation of the conspiracy, vitriol and hatred that are spread daily on Facebook".
These people have all been radicalized on Facebook. This event was organized on Facebook. This violence is an inevitable manifestation of the conspiracy, vitriol and hatred inflicted on people daily on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/fgiIMzb8fd
- Christopher Wylie @ (@chrisinsilico) January 6, 2021
Facebook said it is reviewing and removing any content that violates its rules on inciting violence.
"The violent protests in today's Capitol are a shame. We prohibit incitement and encourage violence on our platform," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.
The Mayor of Washington, DC, ordered a curfew at 6 p.m. ET when the events were resolved on television. CNN reported that a woman was being treated for gunshot wounds on the Capitol grounds and showed a video of rioters scurrying through broken windows.
Photos showed unprecedented scenes of the pro-Trump mob mill in the Capitol. In one photo, a member of the mob was sitting at a desk that CNN identified as House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi.
President-elect Biden addressed the nation and urged Trump to do the same. "Our democracy is under attack in an unprecedented manner," said Biden.
Shortly after he finished, Trump tweeted a video in which he repeated unsubstantiated complaints that the election had been stolen. Nevertheless, he urged the rioters to go home. The tweet was also flagged by Twitter, which repeatedly perceived concerns about its content as violent.
Members of the House and Senate gathered on Wednesday to count the votes cast by states. Trump and some lawmakers tried to use the normally ceremonial process to question the election results. Trump had pressured Pence, who heads the process, to support his baseless claims that the vote had been stolen.
Hours before the vote count began, Trump tweeted that states were about to correct their votes and repeated false claims of "irregularities and fraud". He asked Pence to send the votes back to the states. "Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!" he wrote in A tweet that was classified as controversial.
Several reporters tweeted of the scene, including the Huffington Post Matt Fuller, Politico Olivia Beavers and Huffington Post's Igor Bobic.
Reporter Joan E. Solsman contributed to this report.
