Insurrectionists Overrun U.S. Capital as Trump Refuses to Admit Defeat

KQED's The California Report

After Donald Trump’s words rallied them to action, rioters bent on overturning results of the lawful election stormed the U.S. Capitol building as congress tallied the electoral college vote. Lawmakers were forced to flee the chambers, and hunker down in offices. Some were evacuated to undisclosed safe locations.

In response to yesterdays attack on the U.S. Capitol, elected officials were removed to secure locations and told to shelter in place. One California lawmaker said the experience of hiding in her office as rioters roamed the halls, reminded her of school shootings.

Guest: Los Angeles Congresswoman, Nanette Diaz Barragan

Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the rioters in Washington D.C. and San Francisco Mayor London Breed tweeted that it was quote “an attempted coup encouraged by the president of the United States.” As chaos enveloped the U.S. Capitol. there were also protests in California.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

Yesterday’s insurrection has many Americans asking themselves how the country reached this point. One of them is a political scholar and author of the book “Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama.”

Guest: James Taylor, Professor, African American Studies, University of San Francisco

Members of California law enforcement and civil rights leaders expressed dismay and outrage at the tepid response to the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election. They say the response would have been very different if the crowd was made up of people of color.

Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

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