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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4:18 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Van Jones calls on GOP to uniformly denounce riots: "What if Black Lives Matter did that?"

From CNN's Van Jones / Written by CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

CNN's Van Jones called on Republicans and conservatives to denounce the riots at the US Capitol building today.

"I don't think that Republicans and conservatives can look at this and say, 'this is okay,'" he said.

"I'm calling on all of my conservative friends, my Republican friends to say, what would I do if Black Lives Matter dropped 30,000 Black people on the nation's Capitol and laid siege to the seat of power in the middle of a joint session of Congress and broke in? What would I say if Black Lives Matter did that? I'm going to say it right now. What if Muslims did it. If Muslims dropped 30,000 Muslims on the seat of government in the middle of a joint session of Congress and ran in there and there was blood on the floor and tear gas, what would we be saying?" Jones pressed.

Jones called for a uniform denunciation, right now, from "top to bottom of the Republican Party of what we're seeing."

Watch:

4:01 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

CNN's Abby Phillip contrasts Trump response to Capitol mob versus BLM protesters, calls it "shameful"

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

CNN’s Abby Phillip drew a contrast between the response of President Trump to pro-Trump rioters who breached the Capitol today and Black Lives Matter protesters during the summer.

“A few months ago in Washington — where we live and where we work — you couldn't drive down the street without being stopped by National Guard vehicles, by law enforcement of every type and every stripe,” Phillips said.

“Every block of this city was in lockdown because of Black Lives Matter protesters. Now you have thousands of armed protesters who happen to all be Trump supporters, who are mostly not Black Lives Matter protesters; they're mostly white, and they're storming the Capitol with violence, someone has been shot, glasses being broken, lawmakers are in lockdown wearing gas masks, and looking at these pictures, where is law enforcement?” she said.

“Capitol police struggling to control this, and you don't hear the President saying, ‘we are sending reinforcement.’ You don't see him saying, ‘we are sending help to protect this federal building, to protect the lawmakers who are inside of it and the people who work there and the people of this city.’ That is incredibly shameful," she continued.

Trump has so far tweeted for his supporters to "remain peaceful." Aides are urging Trump to put out a stronger statement in response to the chaos unfolding on Capitol Hill.

Watch CNN's Abby Phillip:

3:58 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Schumer and Pelosi issue joint statement calling on Trump to demand rioters leave immediately

From CNN's Lauren Fox

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a joint statement calling on President Trump to demand the rioters leave immediately.

It says:

"We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately."

3:58 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Schumer responds to Trump tweet calling for peace: "It's a little late"

From CNN's Nicky Robertson

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to Twitter to react to President Trump's calls for peace after rioters breached the US Capitol building.

The New York Democrat retweeted Trump's tweet calling for those on Capitol Hill to "remain peaceful" and said "It's a little late for that. Don't you think?"

3:54 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Entire DC National Guard has been activated following breach of the US Capitol

The entire DC National Guard has been activated by the Department of Defense following a pro-Trump mob breaching the United States Capitol.

Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesman, said:

"The D.C. Guard has been mobilized to provide support to federal law enforcement in the District. Acting Secretary Miller has been in contact with Congressional leadership, and Secretary McCarthy has been working with the D.C. government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice."

4:00 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Police in riot gear have moved into plaza near Capitol

From CNN’s Brian Todd

Police in riot gear have moved into the plaza on the east side of the Capitol.

CNN’s Brian Todd says approximately 50 police are on the east side.

Some rioters have followed behind them, yelling at them.

4:02 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Calls grow for social media platforms to suspend Trump's accounts amid riots

From CNN’s Brian Fung

Tech platforms faced growing calls Wednesday afternoon to suspend President Trump’s social media accounts for his role in instigating riots at the Capitol.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement accusing Trump of promoting sedition and inciting violence.

"President Trump has a responsibility to call for an end to this violence and unrest that he has sowed. His campaign of disinformation is a clear and present danger to our democracy," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. "But until such time as that happens, social media companies should suspend his accounts ASAP as they would do for anyone else advocating disinformation and promoting violence. It’s time."

"Why is Trump still allowed to tweet?" asked Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter for the New York Times Magazine.

Trump has called for his supporters to "remain peaceful" but has not called for them to stand down, despite calls by many Republicans for him to do so.

"Condemn this now, @realDonaldTrump – you are the only one they will listen to. For our country!" tweeted Alyssa Farah, Trump’s former communications director.

Facebook and Twitter did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The companies have applied contextual labels to Trump’s tweets in recent days, but since the November election it has become increasingly clear that the labels are inadequate to the task.

3:47 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Multiple officers injured in the mob violence

From CNN's Pamela Brown and Noah Gray

Multiple officers have been injured with at least one transported to the hospital, multiple sources tell CNN.

Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol earlier today, where members of Congress were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win.

3:47 p.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Acting homeland security secretary says violence "in any form is unacceptable"

From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Geneva Sands

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf in September 2020 in Washington, DC. Greg Nash/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who is currently on a weeklong diplomatic trip in the Middle East, condemned the situation unfolding at the Capitol, saying in a tweet, "violence in any form is unacceptable."

"NO one has the right to attack ANY federal institution regardless of motivation. Violent opportunists at the US Capitol grounds must be held accountable. We have a proud history of resolving our differences through peaceful means," he said.