In photos: An hour-by-hour record of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Published Date: 1/6/2022
Source: axios.com

One year ago today, a pro-Trump mob stormed police barricades and invaded the U.S. Capitol, where lawmakers had convened to certify the results of President Biden's Electoral College victory.

It was a shocking, violent and historic day. Here's how it all unfolded:


8 a.m.:

Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Then-President Trump on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, posts a series of tweets asking then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

  • "States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!" Trump writes at 8:17 a.m.

11 a.m.:

  • Trump supporters gather near the White House for the "Stop the Steal" rally, where they wait for Trump to deliver remarks.
Large crowds of Trump supporters make their way to a rally on the Ellipse. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
People gather as Trump speaks to supporters from the Ellipse near the White House. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

12 p.m.:

  • Trump speaks at the Stop the Steal rally, where he makes false claims about the election being stolen and tells the crowd to "never give up." Trump's speech lasts for around an hour.
Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital to protest the ratification of then-President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over Trump in the 2020 election.

1 p.m.:

  • At around 1:05 p.m., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presides over the Electoral College vote certification for Biden during a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.
Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Getty Images
  • At 1:10 p.m., Trump tells his supporters at the end of his speech, "we're going to the Capitol" to give "our Republicans ... the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."
  • At 1:12 p.m., Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) object to the certification of the electoral votes for the state of Arizona. The joint session separates so that each chamber can debate the objection.
Gosar and Cruz are applauded by Republican members of Congress after their objections. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Cruz fist bumps with a House member during the joint section break. Photo: Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images
  • At 1:30 p.m., the crowd of Trump supporters around the Capitol continues to grow. Police lines attempt to fight them off.
The crowd of Trump supporters gathers outside as seen from inside the Capitol. Photo: Cheriss May/Getty Images
Trump supporters take over the steps of the Capitol. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Police hold back Trump supporters as they gather outside the Capitol Rotunda. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

2 p.m.:

  • At 2:15 p.m., the mob of Trump supporters breaches the Capitol.
Trump supporters break into the Capitol. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Protesters interact with Capitol Police inside the Capitol. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Richard Barnett, a Trump supporter, sits inside of Pelosi's office. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
  • At 2:20 p.m., members of Congress start to evacuate the chamber. Some lawmakers and staffers barricade themselves or hide in place.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) comforts Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) while taking cover after protesters breach the Capitol. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Police officers attempt to barricade a door that was vandalized in the House chamber. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters storm inside the Capitol. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
  • As rioters storm the Capitol, U.S. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman directs Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to safety.

3 p.m.:

  • Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter, is shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd — who has since been cleared of any wrongdoing — as she attempts to force her way through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby located just off the House chamber floor.
Members of the National Guard are seen in the Speaker's Lobby at the door where Ashli Babbitt was killed during the Capitol riot. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

4 p.m.:

  • Biden in a speech urges Trump to "demand an end to this siege," adding that democracy is under "unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times."
Then-President-elect Biden speaks at the Queen Theater on Jan. 6, 2021, in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
  • At around 4:15 p.m., Trump posts a video on Twitter telling his supporters to "go home, we love you."
  • Maryland and Virginia send National Guard and troops to Washington, D.C., around 4:15 p.m. “I have instructed the Adjutant General of the @MDNG to call up a rapid response force to support law enforcement and restore order,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan writes in a tweet.

5 p.m.:

  • At around 5:40 p.m., law enforcement clear rioters from the Capitol and secure the building's interior. Police seek to move the mob away from the Capitol.
Members of the FBI Swat team secure the corridors of the Capitol. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
A Capitol Police Swat team member patrols the Capitol. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
  • Lawmakers call for the electoral vote count to resume.
  • Law enforcement announce that Ashli Babbitt has died at around 5:45 p.m. Babbitt was one of five people who died as a result of the violence.

6 p.m.:

  • As night descends on Washington, a citywide curfew goes into effect at 6 p.m., lasting until 6 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2021.
National Guard troops clear a street from protestors outside the Capitol. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Police officers in riot gear line up outside the Capitol. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Members of the National Guard and the Washington, D.C., police stand guard at the Capitol. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
  • Just after 6 p.m., Trump tweets: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"

8 p.m.:

  • At around 8 p.m., Pence reopens the Senate, telling lawmakers, “Let’s get back to work,” adding, “Today was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.”
Then-Vice President Pence arrives to preside over a joint session of Congress counting the electoral votes. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
  • McConnell echoes Pence’s sentiment saying, “We’ve never been deterred before, and we’ll not be deterred today.”

9 p.m.:

  • Pelosi reconvenes the House, more than six hours after the pro-Trump mob disrupted the Electoral College vote certification. "Justice will be done," Pelosi says.

3 a.m., on Jan. 7, 2021:

  • At 3:42 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2021, Pence maintains the 2020 election results, officially declaring Biden the president-elect.
Then-Vice President Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/Getty Images
  • “The announcement of the state of the vote by the president of the Senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration as persons elected president and vice president of the United States,” Pence said.

Go deeper: Trump mob overruns Capitol