Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said he is issuing a state of emergency as well as setting a 6 p.m. ET curfew for the Arlington and Alexandria areas neighboring Washington, DC.
Read Northam's tweet:
Congress finalizes Biden's win after riot disrupts Capitol
By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Melissa Mahtani, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN
Updated 5:15 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
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Virginia governor announces state of emergency in response to rioting at US Capitol
First wave of National Guard arriving at US Capitol will be unarmed
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
The first 150 DC Guardsmen are expected to arrive at the US Capitol at any moment, according to a senior Defense official.
These guardsmen are part of the new Guard forces activated today.
These Guardsmen are wearing protective gear and carrying riot equipment, but they have no lethal or non-lethal weapons, the source said.
Their sole purpose right now is to back up Capitol police and to help re-establish a perimeter around the Capitol. They will stay as long as is needed, based on the conditions on the street. They are not doing any law enforcement activities – and that will also be true of the remaining Guardsmen as they are ready to head for the Capitol.
There are no plans to bring in active duty troops at this point, the official said.
The original 340 Guardsmen that were requested earlier in the week remain in their positions and on the streets and are also not armed.
Capitol Police detain about 20 people
From CNN’s Laura Robinson
Approximately 20 people were seen in plastic hand-ties being put in the back of a Capitol Police van after exiting the Russell Senate Office Building.
Those people were seen being put in the back of a Capitol Police van on Delaware Avenue near Constitution Avenue shortly after 5:30 p.m. this evening.
US Capitol building is now secure, Sergeant-at-Arms says
From CNN's Kristin Wilson
The Sergeant-at-Arms has announced that the US Capitol building is now secure, according to press pool reporters.
Lawmakers say they're committed to getting the joint session done tonight
From CNN's Manu Raju Ali Zaslav, Ted Barrett and Sarah Fortinsky
While leaving a secure location with other senators, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin told CNN there’s a belief that Congress will finish the Electoral College certification tonight.
“These thugs aren’t running us off,” Manchin said.
He said he thinks it will happen in the Capitol but didn’t know for sure.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the Trump allies helping lead the effort to object to the Electoral College votes, tweeted this afternoon that Congress "must get back to work and finish its job."
CNN reported earlier that leadership wants the situation to be brought under control first before making a decision on reconvening.
“The Capitol is being cleared. When it is safe, we will return to complete our Constitutional responsibilities. This is the United States. We will not allow mob rule to undermine the rule of law," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a member of leadership, told reporters.
Police moving on rioters outside US Capitol
From CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Donie O'Sullivan
Police are moving rioters away from the west front of the US Capitol and shouting, “move back!”
CNN reporters have witnessed chemical irritants and flashbangs being used.
CNN's Alex Marquardt and Donie O'Sullivan report. Watch:
Facebook calls Capitol rioting a "disgrace," but won't block Trump's account
From CNN's Brian Fung
Facebook condemned the violent riots at the US Capitol on Wednesday, but stopped short of saying President Trump would be blocked from the social media platform.
"The violent protests in the Capitol today are a disgrace," said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a statement to CNN. "We prohibit incitement and calls for violence on our platform. We are actively reviewing and removing any content that breaks these rules."
Facebook’s policies on incitement do not carry exemptions or loopholes for elected officials, Stone added.
In accordance with Facebook’s approach to content labeling, users who attempt to share Trump’s labeled posts must click through an interstitial prompt.
But Facebook’s decision not to suspend Trump, at least for now, is likely to generate more criticism from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League. The group on Wednesday called for Trump’s removal from social media platforms over his role in fomenting violence.
Despite the statement, Facebook has not removed Trump’s post suggesting Vice President Mike Pence lacked the "courage to do what should have been done."
It also has not removed Trump’s latest video message to supporters.
DC police chief says 13 people have been arrested
From CNN's Rashard Rose and Katelyn Polantz
At least 13 people were arrested amid the siege of the US Capitol by Pro-Trump rioters, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said Wednesday.
“We were looking at just above, just above 13 arrests, I should add very important note here that none of the arrest that occurred, were of DC residents, all the individuals who were arrested. All were from out of, out of the area," he said.
Contee said several officers are being treated for injuries and authorities have confiscated several weapons as riots have unfolded outside the US Capitol.
“We have reports about that there are several MPD officers that are, that are injured. But these officers are being tended to and still engaged in the fight to regain control of the Capitol although they are injured. They are still working and they're working very hard to regain control of the Capitol,” Contee said.
Contee said there were approximately “five weapons that have been recovered.”
A law enforcement source told CNN’s Pamela Brown that they are still clearing out rioters from inside the Capitol building and also clearing them off the inauguration stage and bleachers.
Lawmaker says staff were able to remove electoral ballots before rioters breached Senate floor
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeted a photo of the electoral ballots on the Senate floor. Merkley noted that Senate staff "rescued" the ballots before rioters entered the Senate floor.
He speculated, "if our capable floor staff hadn't grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob."