5 Dead, 82 Arrested In Total Including 11 Marylanders After U.S. Capitol Riot
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WJZ/AP) -- Washington DC officials identified five people who died at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, including a Capitol Police officer, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters violently stormed the building.
Officer Brian D. Sicknick, 40, passed away around 9:30 p.m. Thursday due to injuries sustained while on-duty. Capitol Police said in a press release Sicknick "was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed."
On Thursday, Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee identified the woman shot and killed by Capitol police as 35-year-old Ashli Babbit. CBS Los Angeles reported Babbit was from San Diego, but DC Police said she's from Huntingtown, Maryland.
Three others, who died from medical emergencies, were identified as 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips of Ringtown, Pa., 55-year-old Kevin Greeson of Athens, Ala. and 34-year-old Roseanne Boleyn of Kennesaw, Georgia.
A total of 82 people were arrested so far for the riot at the Capitol -- 68 by MPD, only one of whom was from the district, while Capitol police said 14 were arrested.
More than 50 Capitol and D.C. police were injured, including several who were hospitalized, Capitol Police said.
According to a press release from the Capitol Police and MPD's arrest database, 11 of those arrested were from Maryland:
- 37-year-old Stacey Ebanks was arrested in the 100 block of First Street NW for violating curfew, unlawful entry.
- 43-year-old Ryan Mason was arrested in the 100 block of First Street NW for violating curfew, unlawful entry.
- 21-year-old Alexander Kimmich was arrested in the 100 block of First Street NW for violating curfew
- 28-year-old Ashanti Smith was arrested in the 1600 block of I Street NW for simple assault.
- 33-year-old Christopher Alberts was arrested in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center for carrying a pistol without a license, possessing a firearm on Capitol grounds, curfew violation, unregistered ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
- 33-year-old Thomas Kawaihae was arrested in the 1400 block of New York Avenue NW for curfew violation
- 27-year-old Jessica Reinke was arrested in the 2700 block of New York Avenue NE for defacing public property and assaulting a police officer.
- 19-year-old Tyler Sofia was arrested in the 100 block of Maryland Avenue SW for violating curfew
- A unnamed 16-year-old also arrested in the 100 block of Maryland Avenue SW for violating curfew
- Zandra Sixkiller-Cramer of Glenwood, Md. was arrested for unlawful entry.
- David Blair of Clarksburg, Md. was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
READ: Full list of arrests related to unrest as of Jan. 7, 2021. [Note this includes unrest from the summer of 2020 through present day.]
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday officials are investigating the Capitol Police's response to the violence Wednesday, calling it a "failure." More than 6,200 National Guardsmen from up and down the East Coast are expected to be in DC by the weekend.
The head of the U.S. Capitol Police defended his department's response to the storming of the Capitol, saying Thursday that officers "acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions."
Chief Steven Sund, in his first public comment on the mayhem from Wednesday, said in a statement that rioters "actively attacked" Capitol police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and "took up other weapons against our officers."
The siege, as the House and Senate were affirming President-elect Joe Biden's election victory, was "unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.,″ said Sund, a former city police officer. "Make no mistake: these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the USCP officers were heroic given the situation they faced.″
Thursday evening, the Associated Press reported a source told them Sund will resign next week.
Bowser joined in the criticism of the police response. "Obviously it was a failure or you would not have had people enter the Capitol by breaking windows and terrorizing the members of Congress who were doing a very sacred requirement of their jobs.″
The rampage that has shocked the world and left the country on edge forced the resignations of three top Capitol security officials over the failure to stop the breach. It led lawmakers to demand a review of operations and an FBI briefing over what they called a "terrorist attack." And it is prompting a broader reckoning over Trump's tenure in office and what comes next for a torn nation.
Protesters were urged by Trump during a rally near the White House earlier Wednesday to head to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were scheduled to confirm Biden's presidential victory. The mob swiftly broke through police barriers, smashed windows and paraded through the halls, sending lawmakers into hiding.
Related Coverage:
- Crisis at the Capitol: Complete Coverage
- 4 Dead, 52 Arrested After Pro-Trump Mob Storms U.S. Capitol Amid Electoral Vote Count
- Calls For Removal Of Rep. Andy Harris After Alleged Scuffle On House Floor During Election Certification Vote
- Lawmakers Vow To Investigate Police After U.S. Capitol Breach
- PHOTOS: Trump Supporters Clash With Police
- Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger Calls On Lawmakers To Invoke 25th Amendment, Remove President Trump From Office
- 'We Love You, You're Very Special': President Trump Tweets Message, Later Removed, To Rioters Storming The U.S. Capitol
- 'Dangerous Coup Attempt': Maryland Lawmakers, Forced To Shelter In Place Amid Riots At Capitol, Blast Trump: He 'Needs To Stop This Now'
- FBI Seeking Public's Help To Identify Pro-Trump Rioters Who Rushed U.S. Capitol
Despite Trump's repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All the states have certified their results as fair and accurate, by Republican and Democratic officials alike.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said news of the police officer's death was "gut-wrenching."
"None of this should have happened," Sasse said in a statement. "Lord, have mercy."
Two House Democrats on committees overseeing the Capitol police budgets said those responsible need to be held to answer for the "senseless" death.
"We must ensure that the mob who attacked the People's House and those who instigated them are held fully accountable," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. in a statement.
Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any remaining day with the president in power could be "a horror show for America." Likewise, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the attack on the Capitol was "an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," and Trump must not stay in office "one day" longer.
Pelosi and Schumer called for invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to force Trump from office before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Schumer said he and Pelosi tried to call Vice President Mike Pence early Thursday to discuss that option but were unable to connect with him.
At least one Republican lawmaker joined the effort. The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. The vice president then becomes acting president.
Pelosi said if the president's Cabinet does not swiftly act, the House may proceed to impeach Trump.
Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, did so in a late Thursday video from the White House vowing a "seamless transition of power."
Two Republicans who led efforts to challenge the election results, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, faced angry peers in the Senate. Cruz defended his objection to the election results as "the right thing to do" as he tried unsuccessfully to have Congress launch an investigation.nIn the House, Republican leaders Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana joined in the failed effort to overturn Biden's win by objecting to the Electoral College results.
With tensions high, the Capitol shuttered and lawmakers not scheduled to return until the inauguration, an uneasy feeling of stalemate settled over a main seat of national power as Trump remained holed up at the White House.
The social media giant Facebook banned the president from its platform and Instagram for the duration of Trump's final days in office, if not indefinitely, citing his intent to stoke unrest. Twitter had silenced him the day before.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said "the shocking events" make it clear Trump "intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power."
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, under pressure from Schumer, Pelosi and other congressional leaders, was forced to resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for and received the resignation of the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger, effective immediately. Paul Irving, the longtime Sergeant at Arms of the House, also resigned.
Sund had defended his department's response to the storming of the Capitol, saying officers had "acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions."
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the police response "a failure."
Lawmakers from both parties pledged to investigate and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building. The Pentagon and Justice Department had been rebuffed when they offered assistance.
Black lawmakers, in particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.
Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said if "we, as Black people did the same things that happened ... the reaction would have been different, we would have been laid out on the ground."
The protesters ransacked the place, taking over the House area and Senate chamber and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. Outside, they scaled the walls and balconies.
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a former police chief, said it was "painfully obvious" that Capitol police "were not prepared."
This story was originally posted on Jan. 7, 2021 and has since been updated with new numbers on arrests.
(© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
