Congress Resumes Election Session After Deadly Riot: Capitol Siege

Lawmakers have returned to the US Capitol to finish certifying Joe Biden’s election victory, hours after Trump supporters stormed the building in a riot that saw four people die.

Officials say one woman was shot by police, while three others died as a result of “medical emergencies”.

The pro-Trump mob stormed the building in a bid to overturn the election result, suspending a Congress session.

US President-elect Joe Biden blasted the “insurrection”.

President Donald Trump, who had urged the demonstrators to march on the Capitol, later called on them to “go home”, while continuing to make false claims of electoral fraud.

US Vice-President Mike Pence started the resumed session on Wednesday evening, in which lawmakers are counting and confirming electoral votes, saying it had been a “dark day in the history of the United States Capitol”.

Some Republicans are raising objections in the session in an effort to overturn the result – a bid that is all but certain to fail.

The rampage on Wednesday came as two Democrats won Senate seats in elections in Georgia, which shifted the balance of Congress to their party’s effective political control, aiding the passage of Mr. Biden’s agenda after he is inaugurated on 20 January.

What do we know about the deaths?

Officials say four people died during the storming of the Capitol building.

One woman was shot by police, while three others died as a result of unspecified “medical emergencies”.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said the woman who was shot was part of a group of individuals that forced entry into the House room, which was still in session. They were confronted by plainclothes officers, and an officer pulled out a weapon and fired it, she said.

The woman was taken to hospital and proclaimed dead. She has not been officially named, but local media identified her as San Diego-area US Air Force veteran and Trump supporter Ashli Babbit.

Officials said the three other deaths included one woman and two men. Further details of how they died have not been made public.

At least 14 members of the police were injured during the unrest.