The mob of Trump supporters that stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday was the culmination of weeks of agitation by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the November 3 election.
Ever since major media outlets called the election for Democrat Joe Biden on November 7, Mr Trump, a Republican, mounted a campaign of legal challenges and online disinformation in a seemingly doomed effort to cling to power.
After the “Save America” rally in Washington and Trump supporters rampaging through the US Capitol this week, Mr Trump said he would hand over power to Mr Biden on January 20 — but repeated false claims of widespread fraud in last year’s vote.
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An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA -
Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP -
Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP -
US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP -
US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters -
Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP -
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP -
US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP -
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP -
A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg -
US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA -
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Mr Trump said in a statement posted on Twitter by his spokesman, Dan Scavino.
Mr Trump has spent the past two months refusing to concede the election and making spurious claims of mass voter fraud that have been rejected by dozens of courts and his Republican colleagues, including his former attorney general William Barr.
Before the election was called for Mr Biden and as votes were still being counted, Mr Trump began advancing claims of voting irregularities in Pennsylvania, Georgia and other tossup states.
On November 6, he said Mr Biden “should not wrongfully claim the office of the President and warned that “Legal proceedings are just now beginning!” The following day, he falsely claimed he “WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”
The president’s campaign lawyers filed suits challenging the counts in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin hoping to stop officials from certifying election results, almost none of which gained traction in US courts.
That same day, Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani briefed journalists in a car park outside a landscaping firm in Pennsylvania, offering no hard evidence of the voting fraud he alleged.
As weeks passed, Mr Trump’s legal challenges were repeatedly rejected by judges and election officials. After Georgia recertified its results and a win for Mr Biden on December 7, election officials in the Southern state said Mr Trump “has to stop” his rhetoric on voting fraud.
As Mr Biden was naming Cabinet picks, Mr Trump on November 26 for the first time acknowledged he would “certainly” leave the White House if his opponent’s win was endorsed by the Electoral College. Still, in a testy exchange with journalists, he continued making baseless claims of electoral fraud.
Since then, Mr Trump has faced a series of setbacks, from attorney general Mr Barr on December 1 declaring he had seen no evidence of widespread voting fraud, to the Electoral College’s certification of Mr Biden’s win on December 14.
By the time Congress was on Wednesday set to endorse the election results, Mr Trump's Republican loyalists were only able to make stonewalling gestures about voter fraud. The President knew this — and so did his supporters who were massed nearby at the rally.
