Trump supporters protest as they storm the US Capitol in Washington D.C on January 6, 2021. AFP photos
Foolish evangelicals think that Trump is a born again christian. How can a born again christian fail to concede to loss of an election by turning the other cheek
The foolery of Spiritual Politics ahead of US election: ‘Prophetess’ Kat Kerr Claims That Angels Refer to Joe Biden as ‘Sleepy Joe’ and God Called Trump ‘A Superhero’
https://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-foolery-of-spiritual-politics-ahead.html
US Capitol secured, 4 dead after rioters stormed the halls of Congress to block Biden's win
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html
Updated 0833 GMT (1633 HKT) January 7, 2021
(CNN)The US Capitol is once again secured but four people are dead -- including one woman who was shot -- after supporters of President Donald Trump breached one of the most iconic American buildings, engulfing the nation's capital in chaos after Trump urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that will confirm President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Shortly after 1 p.m. ET Wednesday hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they tussled with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers "traitors" for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, where he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.
Guns out, windows smashed as Trump supporters turn Congress into battlefield
Thursday January 07 2021
By AFP
Donald Trump's supporters stormed a session of Congress held Wednesday to certify Joe Biden's election win, triggering unprecedented chaos and violence at the heart of American democracy and accusations the president was attempting a coup.
Hours after an extraordinary rally by Trump seeking to overturn the election, a flag-waving mob broke down barricades outside the Capitol and swarmed inside, rampaging through offices and onto the usually solemn legislative floors.
At least one person was shot and wounded and others injured inside the Capitol, an emergency responder said, with lawmakers evacuated and handed gas masks as police fired tear gas.
One Trump supporter in jeans and a baseball cap was pictured propping a leg up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, where a threatening note had been left, as throngs of others climbed onto risers set up for Biden's inauguration on January 20, holding a banner that read: "We the people will bring DC to its knees/We have the power."
Biden called the violence an "insurrection" and demanded that Trump immediately go on national television to urge his supporters to lift the siege of the Capitol.
"Our democracy's under unprecedented assault," Biden said in his home state of Delaware.
"The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America," he added.
"This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end now."
Trump soon afterward released a video on Twitter in which he called on his supporters to leave but stood by his unfounded claims of election fraud.
"We have to have peace. So go home. We love you -- you're very special," he said.
Sonya Fitzgerald, a 43-year-old Trump supporter from Florida, said on the Capitol steps: "You'll hear about this in the history books."
'Inciting a coup'
The chaos at the Capitol came a day after Biden enjoyed a new triumph, with his Democratic Party projected to win two Senate runoff seats, handing them full control of Congress.
For more than two centuries, the joint session of Congress has been a quiet, ceremonial event that formally certifies the election winner -- but Trump urged members of his Republican Party to reject the outcome.
"The President of the United States is inciting a coup. We will not be intimidated. We will not be deterred," tweeted Democratic Representative Karen Bass.
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.
Representative Val Demings likewise denounced the storming of the Capitol as evidence of "a coup in progress" -- in words echoed by half a dozen lawmakers.
Representative Elaine Luria said she had to evacuate because of a report of a pipe bomb and said she believed she heard gunshots.
"I don't recognize our country today and the members of Congress who have supported this anarchy do not deserve to represent their fellow Americans," she said.
US allies also voiced shock, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denouncing the "disgraceful scenes" and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urging Trump backers to "stop trampling on democracy."
Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a nighttime curfew in Washington and sought help from neighboring areas, with Virginia sending its National Guard.
- 'Damage our republic forever' -
Biden is certain to become president, with Democrats already controlling the House of Representatives, but more than 140 Republican House members and a dozen Republican senators have sided with Trump in challenging the results even though no evidence of fraud has been proven in court.
Republican Senate leader Senator Mitch McConnell, closely aligned with Trump throughout his presidency, denounced the challenge in an impassioned address, noting that the results were not even close.
"The voters, the courts and the states have all spoken. If we overrule them, it will damage our republic forever," said McConnell, who is set to lose his position of majority leader after Democrats' Senate wins.
"If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral," said McConnell, who also accused Democrats of not accepting Trump's surprise 2016 victory.
Senator Chuck Schumer voiced alarm moments before protesters entered the Capitol, saying: "An element of the Republican Party believes their political viability hinges on the endorsement of an attempted coup."
But Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, pushed against Biden's certification by saying that many Americans did not accept the election results and needed an investigation.
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they invade the Inauguration platform of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.
"I would urge to both sides perhaps a bit less certitude and a bit more recognition that we are gathered at a time when democracy is in crisis," Cruz said shortly before the violence.
'We will never concede'
Trump had urged his supporters to march to the Capitol in an angry, rambling speech outside the White House.
Trump warned "weak" Republicans not to certify Biden's victory and put direct pressure on Vice President Mike Pence, who ceremonially presided over the session.
"We will never give up. We will never concede," Trump told the cheering crowd, few wearing masks despite a spike in Covid-19 cases.
"I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do."
As Trump was still speaking and Congress opened the session, Pence -- dutifully loyal to Trump for four years and quiet since the election -- said he would not intervene.
Pence was rushed out of the Capitol and in a statement urged Trump's supporters -- some of whom have begun chanting against him -- to "stop now."
Thousands of Trump supporters headed to Washington at his urging in recent days, with downtown businesses boarding up in fear of violence.
"I can't say I respect our election process anymore," said Gail Shaw, 76, who drove down from New Jersey. "We will take our nation back."
Biden won in excess of seven million votes more than Trump in the November 3 election and leads him 306-232 in the state-by-state Electoral College count that determines elections.
New mandate for Democrats
The session of Congress comes one day after voters in Georgia apparently handed a pair of stunning victories to the Democratic Senate candidates over Republican incumbents.
The projected Democratic sweep means a 50-50 split in the Senate with Democrats holding the tie-breaking vote in Vice President Kamala Harris -- giving Biden much freer rein to carry out priorities, starting with accelerating Covid relief.
Raphael Warnock, the pastor at the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King once preached, was projected to defeat Republican Kelly Loeffler, a 50-year-old businesswoman appointed to the Senate in December 2019.
Warnock, 51, would be just the third African-American to win a Senate seat from the South.
In the other Georgia race, Democrat Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old video producer, was projected to defeat Republican David Perdue.
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. AFP PHOTO
China goes online to mock 'beautiful sight' of US Capitol chaos
Thursday January 07 2021
By AFP
China's internet erupted in mirth at America's troubled democracy after supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the US Capitol, comparing the chaos to the Hong Kong anti-government protests of 2019.
On Thursday morning, state media tabloid Global Times tweeted side-by-side photo comparisons of Hong Kong protesters occupying the city's Legislative Council Complex in July 2019 with Wednesday's Washington riots.
The latter saw hardcore Trump fans invade the US Capitol to protest the election defeat, taking selfies, scuffling with security and ransacking parts of the building.
"@SpeakerPelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as 'a beautiful sight to behold'," the Global Times said in the tweet, referring to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's June 2019 comment about Hong Kong's mass pro-democracy demonstrations, which were mostly peaceful at that time.
"It remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill."
China's Communist Youth League also described the unrest as a "beautiful sight" on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
The hashtag "Trump supporters storm US Capitol" pinballed across Weibo on Thursday, racking up 230 million views, as users compared the global support for Hong Kong's protesters with the outpouring of condemnation for the pro-Trump mob.
"At present, all European countries' leaders have shown double standards and condemned it (Washington rioting)," read one Weibo comment which gained over 5,000 likes.
"I don't know what kind of double-standard reports will be carried by Hong Kong or Taiwan media this time."
"What happened in the Hong Kong Legislative Council last year is being repeated in the US Capitol," wrote another user in a comment with over 4,500 likes.
While the tactics were similar, there are stark differences in the causes and motivations of the two legislature stormings.
Hong Kong protesters broke into their legislature to demand full democracy and halt an unpopular bill that was being pushed through by the city's unelected leadership.
The semi-autonomous Chinese city is not a democracy, the cause of years of popular protests.
China has since responded with a crackdown, imposing a harsh security law on the restless city, arresting scores of critics and smothering dissent.
In contrast, those storming the US Capitol were trying to overturn the results of what has been declared a free and fair presidential election.
US President-elect Joe Biden said the US rioters were undermining democracy by trying to overturn Trump's defeat in November's election.