United States: Congress marked by chaos, Donald Trump always more accused
Andy Kim, elected Democrat in the House of Representatives, helping to clean up the damage to the Capitol, January 7, 2021. AP - Andrew Harnik
Text by: RFI Follow
6 min
In the aftermath of the intrusion of supporters of Donald Trump on Capitol Hill, the atmosphere remains heavy within the institution.
The places still bear the scars of the violence committed, and this Thursday, January 7, the Democrats are increasingly focusing their criticism on Donald Trump.
Nancy Pelosi even calls for his dismissal.
Joe Biden accuses him of having unleashed "a merciless assault on American democratic institutions."
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With our correspondent in Washington,
Anne Corpet
The damage from the intrusion of the demonstrators is still visible: broken glass litter the ground in places, some broken windows have been covered with wooden panels, and under the small rotunda, a white powder covers the ground.
It is a vestige of the gas launched Wednesday by the Capitol police to disperse the crowd of supporters of Donald Trump who
invaded the premises
.
Experts inspect the statues and carefully note any damage;
it is federal heritage and it is normally absolutely forbidden to touch these works of art.
The staff are in shock, but no one here has the right to speak.
An imposing security device has been deployed around the Capitol.
Only accredited personnel are allowed to enter.
Even the esplanade and the lawn in front of the Congress are now closed to the public.
In the aisles of the building, we also meet members of the National Guard, deployed to secure the premises.
Washington Police have announced they will erect a barrier around the building.
New security measures will be implemented for the next 30 days.
Outside a security barrier is being installed.
It will stay in place for thirty days.
pic.twitter.com/0EurSqUXWG
- anne corpet (@annecorpet) January 7, 2021
But this Thursday in Washington, many questions remain about Wednesday's security arrangement.
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the American capital, denounced a clear failure of the federal authorities.
Pelosi denounces 'armed insurgency against America' instigated by Trump, calls for his impeachment
Nancy Pelosi
, the leader of the Democratic majority in the House, has returned to Capitol Hill.
Masked, dressed in a fuchsia pink suit, her nose was riveted on her cell phone and went to her office without a word.
A room which, on Wednesday, was invested by supporters of the American president.
During the day, the President of the House of Representatives spoke.
Unsurprisingly, she returned to the events of Wednesday, which claimed the lives of four people, including a woman shot dead inside the Capitol.
It is to Donald Trump that Nancy Pelosi attributes the responsibility for the abuses that have occurred: "
The President of the United States has incited an armed insurgency against America
", she declared at the opening of her press conference.
The elected Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, in front of the press, January 7, 2021. AP - J. Scott Applewhite
The Democrat denounced an "
attempted coup by President Trump and his supporters
".
She considered that "
the threshold crossed is of such gravity that there is no question that this president is authorized to take decisions
".
While the handover to President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled for January 20, Nancy Pelosi called for Donald Trump to be dismissed.
Because by January 20, "
every day can turn into a horror film for America
", she fears.
Thus, Nancy Pelosi urged the vice president, Mike Pence, to invoke "
immediately the 25th amendment of the Constitution
", which allows to declare Donald Trump "
unfit
" to perform his function.
She hopes for a response this Thursday and warned: if Mike Pence does not act, Congress "
may be ready to move impeachment proceedings
", also called "
impeachment
."
At the end of 2019-beginning of 2020, the Congress had already started this procedure in another case;
the Senate had
acquitted the Head of State
.
► Also to listen: What future for the Republican Party after the events in Washington?
Biden denounces "terrorists from within"
Joe Biden, the president-elect who saw his election victory on November 3 confirmed on Wednesday despite the abuses on Capitol Hill, also blasted Donald Trump's behavior on Thursday.
According to him, the president "
unleashed a merciless assault on
American democratic
institutions
".
January 6 was, in his eyes, "
one of the darkest days in (our) history
".
Joe Biden called the troublemakers "
inside terrorists
".
What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent - it was disorder.
They weren't protestors - they were rioters, insurrectionists, and domestic terrorists.
I wish we could say we couldn't see it coming, but that isn't true.
We could.
- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 7, 2021
The one who will become the 46th President of the United States also said he was convinced that anti-racist protesters would have been treated "very differently" from the individuals who disrupted Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
“
They would have been treated very, very differently than the surly mob that invaded the Capitol.
We all know that is true, and it is unacceptable,
”he said.
Donald Trump
has been relatively discreet for 24 hours.
Temporarily deprived
of his Twitter (the social network he most uses to communicate), Facebook and Instagram accounts after his controversial messages sent Wednesday when the Capitol was invaded, the president said, via a press release, that although 'he still disagrees with the outcome of the election, "
there will be an orderly transition
".
► To read also: United States: behind the riots on the Capitol, the power of the militias
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United States
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