Protesters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, leaving members of Congress in hiding.
US Rep. Mo Brooks from Huntsville said on Twitter that tear gas was fired inside the Capitol.
“Tear gas is prevalent in the Capitol Rotunda,” Brooks said on Twitter. “Order members of Congress to take off gas masks under their chairs in case they have to leave in a hurry!”
Three minutes later, Brooks tweeted, “At least the #Social Democrats haven’t stopped funding the Capitol Police. Evacuation room.”
US Representative Terry Sewell also gave a sense of the tension on the Capitol building.
“There was a breach of the Capitol,” Sewell said on Twitter. We are locked inside the house until the Capitol Police allow us to leave. We pray that this mess will be dispelled and no one will be hurt. “
The two most recent members of the House of Representatives in Alabama, who was sworn in earlier this week, spoke on Twitter and called on the protesters to step down.
From Representative Jerry Carl Mobile:
From Representative Barry Moore of the Foundation:
Brooks tweeted at 2:36 pm that “the members of Congress were safe (to my knowledge).”
US Rep. Robert Adderholt asked Halleville to pray in the wake of the protests.
CNN broadcast live video of protesters marching through the Capitol Building at Statuary Hall, waving Trump flags.
The protests came after a rally in the mall in Washington near the White House and the Capitol building. Brooks was the first speaker to address the crowd shortly after 8 a.m., urging protesters in his speech to march toward the Capitol after the rally. “Today is the day the patriots of Americans start taking names and kicking a donkey,” Brooks said.
Trump spoke at the same gathering two hours after Brooks.
This story will be updated.
