After the chaos, a first assessment.
Four people died and 52 people were arrested in Washington, the federal capital of the United States, the police announced on the evening of Wednesday, January 6, after the invasion of the headquarters of the United States Congress by supporters of Donald Trump to prevent parliamentarians to certify the victory of Joe Biden.
During a late press conference, the Washington police chief said 47 of the 52 arrests were in connection with violations of the city's curfew from 6 p.m. local time by the Mayor Muriel Bowser in response to the unrest.
Robert Contee said 26 people had been arrested within the Capitol itself.
Several arrests concern illegal arms ports.
Two homemade bombs
Police also discovered two homemade bombs at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee, Robert Contee said.
The police chief refused to disclose the identity of a demonstrator fatally shot in the Capitol by the shooting of an officer.
Three other people have died from medical emergencies, he added.
Fourteen police officers were injured, two of whom are still hospitalized.
However, it is likely that the number of arrests will ultimately be higher.
For now, it remains very small compared to the more than 300 people who were arrested by police after the June 1 protests against police violence and racial discrimination after the death of George Floyd.
If the Washington police were at the time deemed too aggressive, this time they raised questions for their inability to prevent demonstrators from entering the Capitol and then for letting some protesters leave the building without being arrested.
The FBI asked the population to provide any information that would identify people "actively" involved in the unrest.
With Reuters
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