The world watched in horror as hundreds of pro-Trump supporters scaled the walls of the U.S. Capitol building and breached the premises in an attempt to prevent power from being transferred to president-elect Joe Biden by the House of Representatives. Trump himself even tried desperately to prevent the transfer from taking place, publicly putting pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to prevent the transfer from taking place. Following reports yesterday that a woman succumbed to a bullet wound to the chest yesterday, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee confirmed that four people died during the riots, while an additional 52 we arrested.
The police chief reported that 47 of the 52 arrests were made in relation to violating Mayor Muriel Bowser's 6 pm curfew, 26 of them being arrested on U.S. Capitol grounds. Others were arrested on charges related to carrying unlicensed or prohibited firearms. Contee additionally mentioned that two pipe bombs were recovered from the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic committees, and a cooler from a vehicle located at the Capitol containing flammable Molotov cocktails.
Officers declined to identify the woman who was killed by officers, although social media has already uncovered her identity. The three other people died because of "medical emergencies" according to the police chief, failing to go any deeper into details. 14 officers were also injured, with two still remaining in the hospital.
Mayor Bowser said police intend to use the public's help in identifying rioters in the dozens of viral videos, many of whom posed for photos maskless inside the Capitol building.
"We will be on the lookout," she said. "Some of them, we think ... have to be held accountable for the carnage." The city is also under a 15-day public emergency declaration.