President-elect Joe Biden is calling on President Donald Trump to urge his supporters to cease protests outside the U.S. Capitol, seeking to halt the certification of the presidential election. (Screenshot from President-elect Biden's news conference)
President-elect Joe Biden is calling on President Donald Trump to urge his supporters to cease protests outside the U.S. Capitol, seeking to halt the certification of the presidential election.
Amid protests resulting in at least one person shot inside the Capitol building, President Trump has posted to Twitter calling on protesters to “remain peaceful.” However, he has stopped short of calling for an end to the violence.
“At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented attack,” Mr. Biden said. “Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.”
This comes just hours after protesters breached security barriers at the U.S. Capitol, prompting a shelter-in-place for Congressmembers inside the building.
Several lawmakers have tweeted from inside the building, reporting they have been given gas masks and ordered to stay away from windows.
Despite the chaos, President-elect Biden said this was not representative of the nation. Rather, it’s a “small number of extremists” refusing to accept the results of the election.
“This isn’t dissent, it’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition,” the president-elect said. “And it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and let the work of democracy to go forward.”
Mr. Biden called on the president to appear on national TV to call on his supporters to cease protests, noting the “words of a president matter.”
“President Trump, step up,” Mr. Biden said. “May God protect our troops and all those folks at the Capitol who are trying to preserve order.”