or merkley, thank you for your time today. good luck going forward. good luck getting back to work it appears that at least on one side of the capitol, much calmer now what's happening where you stand? >> we just saw bus loads of national guard head into the capitol grounds, george. there have been 1,100 d.c. national guard called up and 600 national guard from virginia. we see fbi officers actually just inches from us here, walking down constitution ave e avenue. we'll just follow them here. let me get out of the way. but those bus loads are there, we assume they're going to clear out the last of the crowd, because, george, it's not 6:00 p.m., there's a curfew in effect and they've announced that anybody who is not out of there will be arrested and there is so

much lawn enforcement -- hang on. hang on. we've got some more vehicles coming here, let's get out of the way. we saw those arrests earlier. we have armored police vehicles going down here. if you look down constitution avenue, it is all law enforcement coming up this way, going down that way, but again, those national guard, going right there onto the capitol grounds. they are not armed. the national guard is not armed, but those armored vehicles now heading into the capitol grounds where the remaining rioters, the people that would not leave and many who probably were part of that break-in we saw a little earlier, they were hauling off some of those rioters, they were arrested. >> constitution avenue, martha, usually the site of the inaugural parade.

>> it is -- it is just appalling to look down constitution avenue and just see nothing but red and blue lights of law enforcement vehicles. there is a solid perimeter, it appears to me, from this place, around these capitol grounds now. many law enforcement, capitol police, metropolitan police from d.c., police from virginia, all descending on this area to set up this perimeter. now, how they're going to get rid of those hundreds of people, they have definitely told them to clear out. we've seen no one come this way since 6:00. no one walking down this way, trying to clear out that area. and in fact, we've seen some people kind of heading into that area. i'm going to back up a little bit more now. >> we're seeing the national guard get off those buses at the capital, prepared for some sort of action, prepared to enforce this perimeter. and we heard from mary bruce that the sergeant-at-arms

believes the capitol will be secured in the coming hours. >> i think the inside of the capitol has been secured. they announced that the inside has been secured. in other words, all of those rioters are out of the inside of the capitol, i'm sure what they tried to do is go room to room before they would ever announce anything like the capitol being cleared. the outside of the capitol is definitely not cleared yet. i mean, we can still see a lot of those trump supporters and those instigators, as well, still on the grounds. those are the people who were remaining there after a lot of the protesters we saw had walked away, disappointed by the way, they didn't really want to leave, because they liked, they said, what had happened there today and they had a perfect right to do that. but this is clearly the hour they're going to start trying to move those who remain. i think one part of the capitol, and you talked to rachel scott, obviously, i haven't seen her, she's so far away from me, but

there's an area on the other side that's cleared out. this side is definitely not cleared out yet. and i can't imagine they're just going to let these people leave. there is a curfew in the city, they're supposed to be inside. they're not supposed to be anywhere. so, i don't know what they will do with those who remain, but i imagine there will be numerous arrests here within the hour, george. >> martha raddatz, thank you very much. want to go back to cecilia vega. cecilia, the president doubling and tripling down, a new tweet just two minutes ago, where he talks about an election victory viciously stripped away from great patriots. >> i -- george, i'm -- i've covered president trump for four years and i'm speechless by this. i mean, as we are looking at this -- these images of what martha just described as an appalling sight unfolding in our nation's capital. you have the president who is tweeting, he said, these are the things and events when a sacred

landslide election is so viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly and unfairly treated for so long. he, again, he tells then, go home with love and in peace. and then he says, remember this day forever. yes, history is going to remember this day forever. there was no election that was unceremoniously and viciously stripped from anyone. this was a free and fair election and it's pathetic that we have to keep saying that over and over. and you can't have it both ways, as we've heard from republicans, from his allies, from people who are close to him, who tried to get this message to the president that he is the one who started this and he is the one who could stop it. if he went on television and he said outright, leave and go home peacefully. that is not what he has said. he has not called on this to stop and he doesn't get to have it both ways here. and then you've got the flip, george. listen to this absolutely

stunning statement that i can't imagine i'm going to read from a former president of the united states, former president george w. bush, who just released a statement that is worth reading in its entirety. he said, "this is how election results are disputed in a banana republic, not a democratic republic. i'm appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions and our law enforcement." and i think as we are talking about what happens next there on the capitol and whether they go forward with this vote to certify the election tonight, the electoral college votes tonight, and we've got these questions for the 150 house members who said they were going to object and the 13 senate republicans who were going to object, where were they before tonight? where were they if they are going to change their vote, if they are not -- if they are no longer going to object, as we are starting to hear potentially, this discussion that's happening behind closed doors right now, do they get off

the hook for what we're seeing here tonight? if they -- they were planning to object in their votes today and we are here right now, are they -- are they at least partly to blame for what we are seeing in the capitol, as well? >> cecilia vega, we just got a new tweet from the president's national security adviser, only 14 days to kwo in this presidency, but he is apparently broken with the president on this, as well, saying, i spoke with vice president pence, he is a fine and decent man, he exhibited courage today as he did on the capitol on 9/11 as a congressman. i'm proud to serve with him. a break of sorts, of course, the vice president was doing his constitutional duty. >> he was doing his constitutional duty. that's his job. the president had been pressuring him privately, the president had been pressuring him publicly, but is it too late? does mike pence, does robert o'brien, do they get credit for today saying that they did what the constitution requires them

to do or that robert o'brien supports what the vice president did because that's what he's supposed to do? this is the oath of office that the vice president took when he took it four years ago. do they get the credit now for not having spoken up? the president has been -- has been spreading these baseless conspiracy theories, these lies about an election being stolen from him for nine weeks now. and they're just not true. court after court around our country has declared that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. i -- i laugh at myself for having to continually say this for the last nine weeks. it's just the fact. but the president has been spreading these -- these lies, these mistruths and his aides, including mike pence and object o'brien and people in the highest echelons of this administration have stood by his side and they have not spoken up. so, i think there are serious questions for them as to whether they are part of what we're seeing here today, as well.

>> cecilia vega, thank you very much. terry moran, jonathan greenblatt was on the program in the last hour saying today's events are in some ways a book end to charlottesville. those who are rioting will look back for years as a great victory. president trump said there were fine people on both sides in charlottesville. the tweet two minutes ago praising great patriots. >> and that is why what happens in congress in the next few hours is critical. this lie, a lie that the attorney general appointed by trump said there was no widespread fraud, that his own head of election security, all those courts, this lie must be put down. right? this notion that the republicans were playing with fire, lies have consequences, as senator ben sasse told his colleagues today. and an incident like today's can become a triumph for right wing

anti-democratic movement, if it is allowed to fester. if it is not put down. what congress does tonight in affirming the victory of joe biden against lies and fantasies and sedition, is absolutely critical. if they show weakness, it will be a triumph for the forces that want to essentially ignore the election, destroy the democracy and install donald trump as permanent president. this is a very critical moment, not just because of the sad scenes that we've seen, but because of what represent. movements that are anti-democratic take strength from their martyrs, they take strength from their battles. and unless there's a united front against it, it can be very dangerous going forward in our politics. >> the question is, will that united front be developed? we're seeing the capitol right now. a little after 6:00, 6:10 on the east coast, a curfew has gone into effect across washington, d.c. after this extraordinary

day of violence at the u.s. capitol. the capitol under siege. rachel scott there in washington, d.c., have you noticed a significant difference in these last ten minutes? >> a significant difference, george. we have now seen most of the demonstrators and protesters in this area clear out. we are now completely surrounded on this side of the capitol by federal authorities and very large police presence at this point. we just heard the second announcement go off over the intercom telling people to clear the area, that the curfew is now in full effect and if they fail to do so, that they will be arrested. just dramatic scenes playing out. we had been here for hours, as you know, i was in georgia just yesterday, i was on a flight back to d.c. first thing this morning, in front of me were several rows of president trump's supporters that were coming here. they wanted to stand by him in this fight to overturn the results. this is normally an area where tourists come. this is normally an area where people come to see the united states capitol. today, it has turned into a

scene of violence and tense clashes. we watched media be attacked. we ourselves have been kaukt in some of these tense clashes with some of these demonstrators here. and of course, those images of that woman who was gushing out blood, appearing to have suffered from a tremendous wound here. authorities have now taken back this area, george, but it took hours. >> hours. and they're hoping to get started on this debate tonight. rachel, thank you. want to talk to congressman democrat of rhode island. congressman, thank you for joining us tonight. just tell us about your day as best you can, i assume you're clearly safe right now. were you on the floor when this all unfolded? what have you learned? >> i arrived on the capitol complex this morning, getting ready for the proceedings to begin at 1:00 p.m., which they did. there were only 44 members on both sides of the aisle, house and senate allowed on the floor, so, most of us had been watching the proceedings from the offices and they were going to rotate us

in and out as the day went on. then shortly around, after 2:00 or so, we got word that protesters had stormed the capitol and then started to try to -- began to interfere with the proceedings of the house and the senate and then shortly after that, a couple of times the house went into recess and then we were told to shelter in place and -- so, i've been here in my office with a couple of my staff members and we've been here while the capitol police and the fbi and the, now the national guard on the scene. >> we just got a tweet from your colleague congressman jim clyburn, the democratic majority whip, who is quoted saying, i have faced violent hatred before, i was not deterred them, i will not be deterred before. congress will continue certifying the votes tonight. how more do you know about how this is all going to unfold tonight? >> that's right. we have a constitutional

responsibility and we're going to fulfill that responsibility tonight. we've hear from our leadership that as soon as the capitol police and law enforcement have secured the capitol complex, once again, that the proceedings of the joint session of the house and senate to count the electoral votes will continue. that is our job. and i think it's important that we proceed tonight with that, no matter what time we have to resume, but we cannot allow this mob that stormed the capitol, that borders on a -- a coup attempt, it really is an assault on our democracy. we can't allow that to be the order of the day. we can't allow that to disrupt the work of the people and to interrupt this electoral vote count. we will count these electoral vote counts and joe biden and kamala harris will be declared the president and vice president of the united states. >> and do you expect that will get finished tonight? do you think that some of your colleagues now are going to scale back their objections in the wake of this riot?

>> i hope that many of my colleagues are going to reflect on what happened today and understand how important it is not to do anything that is going to further incite violence. the time for protests and questioning the outcome of the election and the electoral vote count, is over. that should have and it has been done at the state level and been certified, the election has been certified by election officials and republican legislatures, many times, these are republican legislatures that have certified these results. our role in congress right now is basically ceremonial, and for more than 200 years, every four years, the congress meets in joint session, receives the electoral votes, we count those electoral votes that have been certified and sent to us and that is the basic role. this should not have happened today. it didn't have to happen. and i'm very disappointed in president trump that he keeps

perpetuating these lies. it's almost -- he keeps telling a lie over and over again, people start to believe it. and it really does border on -- it incites violence, it incites these protesters and it's just wrong. the president needs to come out and speak clearly and definitively to for the protesters to stand down and let the work of the people continue. >> i've spoken with several of your democratic colleagues today who say it's an abuse of power, at least two are drawing up articles of impeachment, congressman jeffries said that everything is on the table right now. is that something that should be considered in the name of accountability? >> i think in the name of accountability, everything should be on the table, but i'll say that we are 14 days away from january 20th and on that day, at noon, joe biden and kamala harris are going to be sworn in as the next president and vice president of the united states. that is a certainty. that outcome is not going to change. the people have spoken, the election results are in. for those people that don't like

the results, there will be an election in four years. but this election is over. >> congressman langevin, thank you for joining us. stay safe. >> thank you, george. >> tom llamas, want to pick up on what we were talking about with cecilia just before we talked with the congressman, robert o'brien now, the national security adviser, praising vice president pence, appearing to break at some level with president trump. the group around him is fraying. >> it is. i'd be surprised if o'brien has caee'ee tthe end of the we idtcts so qck in this time. you know, i'm a little concerned about congress staying tonight, because if they are going to stay tonight, law enforcement is probably thinking, let's get through this as quickly as possible without these objections because if they delay the process, it's only going to give the rioters more time to sort of regroup. and george, you know, we started with an image which is what i thought was the image of the

day, senator ted cruz when he stood up to object at first and he got a standing ovation from house republicans and that's when the process started, it was just before the protests really took off and it's incredible what's unfolded over the last four, five hours. and i have to think the republican senators, the republican members of the house that were going to object to this electoral college vote results had no idea i was going to get this bad. maybe some of them truly felt that there were inaccuracies in the elections, even though the courts have completely tossed any of that evidence out and there's been no evidence provided so far, but i wonder how much of this was politics being played and because of that game, this is where we are right now. >> tom llamas. mary bruce, it does appear that all the members of congress we've spoken with are determined to -- we lost mary bruce. i want to bring this to rick klein then instead. they do seem determined to get this done tonight for both symbolic and substantive reasons. >> yeah, there's a growing consensus that it's important to send that message.

the process goes on. a political component to today's events. meant to disrupt the counting of electoral votes. i think it's important for the senators and the house members to be able to resume that count. we just saw a statement from senator mitt romney who thought none of this should be happening in the first place, he's calling for all the objections to be dropped, to make something close to unanimous and we've been hearing from senators they may drop some of them. curtail what would have been a long process anyway. we'd still be going through those objections and might do it into the wee hours of tomorrow morning. instead, i think, there's going to be probably less debate around that. i have a hard time imagine everyone drops all the objections, but they would send a strong statement, given how the president continues to hang onto these false theories. >> let me bring that to sara fagen. we are seeing more republicans stepping up, including, cecilia read the strong statement from former president george w. bush who, of course, you worked for, as well. based on what you've been hearing today, do you think this scaling back of the objections is going to actually occur?

and do you think this is actually changed the minds and hearts of those who, in the past, have supported the president? >> i don't know how it couldn't. this is a remarkably different situation than we were in three days ago. a person was shot today. people stormed the capitol. they sat in the speaker's chair. i think the prudent thing for republicans to do to make a statement would be to withdraw those objections. i understand the concerns, i share some of them, but we're at a very different place here and that is the responsible thing for republican members of congress to do. i don't think they will all do it. some of them are going to move forward, they're going to separate these actions from objections to the election process, but more and more senior republicans like my former boss, who you just mentioned, are going to come out with incredibly strong statements. this is not reflective of the republican party. it's not. republican party is a big tent,

it's dominated by trumpism right now, but it is certainly -- i don't think any of us look at this and say we want anything to do with this. >> but hasn't the story of the last four years has been that this is trump's republican party? >> well, i mean, certainly he remains the leader as the president and he is certainly the dominant force of it and, you know, we're at this critical period in the party and where it goes remains to be seen. i think that the president did himself and his movement an incredible amount of harm today. you know, whether this is an inflection point and more mainstream republicans sort of take bigger roles in the party or not, i think that remains to be seen, but i think most republicans, including many trump supporters and many strong trump supporters, look at this and say, they want nothing to do with this kind of behavior. it's not reflective of who they are. they have very strong views, but

that doesn't mean that they want to see violence or people storming the u.s. capitol. >> sara fayfagen, thank you. let me go to heidi heitkamp. is this an inflection point? is this something on a par that we saw on 9/11, this attack on the capitol, that will lead, at least for a time, to some unity? >> well, you heard joe manchin talk about how this is an opportunity for unity and that when they all huddled together, they had an opportunity to visit and i think it leads to the camaraderie that people feel about going forward and so hopefully this will, in fact, lead to some kind of healing of divisions. >> we can only hope that, but it comes on the heels, come ytom llamas, of very sad news. the woman shot on the capitol

has died. >> we saw first responders putting their hands on her neck wound. we've just learned that she has died. and george, we don't even know her name yet. we just know that she died in this senseless violence and we have to ask ourselves, what did she die for? we don't even know, you know? we don't even know her name. and yet this woman has died, so, this has gone way beyond just a simple protest, this was a riot, through and through, senseless violence and now a woman is dead. >> a deadly riot. mary bruce on capitol hill, this has to have taken, we heard it in their vouss all day long, members of congress from both sides of the aisle, the events of this day. >> it absolutely has shaken them, to the core, i think. because, of course, this goes way beyond politics and way beyond the usual bitter partisanship that has become, unfortunately, all too commonplace in washington. to think that right now you have members of congress huddled in a secure location on the capitol talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out, where do

we as a country go from here? a day that was expected to be a lot of political performance, a day that was going to expose a lot of divisions within the republican party is now sparking a much different conversation and how the country can somehow try and heal going forward. we have heard increasingly tense comments coming from republicans directed towards the president. the number three house republican liz cheney in an interview came out and said that the president lit the fire behind what we have seen here today. recognizing that rhetoric has real consequences here. that, you know, we heard joe biden, of course, in a not so veiled way, make it very clear that he felt that the president was responsible, because the president's words have meaning. and can often, you know, be interpreted in many different kinds of ways. and the president himself still not forcefully calling all of this off. it is just remarkable. and i think it is leading to a lot of deep conversations right

now on capitol hill, first and foremost, over what comes next with the task that was ahead of them today. we had seen so many republicans lining up behind the president, fruitlessly backing this effort to try and object to the election results that, of course, wasn't going to change anything. and now a sense that there is growing pressure on many of these members and that some may be back pedaling, maybe reconsidering, given what we have seen today that it simply isn't worth it to stand behind the president and object to these results given what that conversation clearly has sparked. >> mary bruce, thank you very much. that's how it's being processed inside the capitol right now. terry moran, what we can't know yet, as this is all unfolding throughout the day in a way that was actually quite unexpected, but we can't know yet how the country is going to process all of this. >> well, it's a moment for us all, isn't it? for too long, it's pretty clear that the fundamental question for too many american voters in their politics has not been what do you believe in, but who do

you hate? and owning the libs or whatever you want to do to the other side has been the driving force. donald trump was made for this moment. he has a personality which is very good at hating and very good at tearing people down. and he lifted people up in some ways, because they needed, they felt, a champion, a brutal fighter against a culture that they thought was exterminating them or changing their beloved culture in a way they wouldn't recognize anymore. that is the politics that led to this moment. when you heard joe manchin talk about t centrist group of republicans and democrats in the senate, trying to do business, when you hear about joe biden in his very typical way saying, you know, we got to be looking out for each other again. that sounds like a note from a distant past. it is. but it is the kind of antidote that is needed to cure the poison, the toxin, right through our politics, to our dinner

table arguments at thanksgiving and all the rest of it that we've talked about for these years, that must change. we can ask our leaders to do it, but really, they won't do it unless we will. >> terry moran. mary alice parks, record numbers of americans voted for joe biden. record numbers of americans voted for donald trump. biden won by over 7 million votes overall. the country often chooses something at some level that is an antidote to the president that came before, the contrast we saw in the two statements today about as stark as can be. >> you know, one thing that the president's actions the last few months has done has robbed president-elect joe biden of a more fullsome conversation about how he won. and i think that -- both parties and all voters need to take a moment to think about how it was that joe biden motivated people, not only got out democratic base, but had a lot of disillusioned republicans and

conservative independents just willing to cross the aisle. you know, we -- we haven't had a meaningful conversation about whether our politics are changed for the good or for the better or for the worse or permanently or if this is just a moment that is purely reactionary to the president and i think that in some ways we're going to just be talking about what happened in november for so much longer because of what the president has done. but george, if i may, i have to say, i've been just getting so many questions the last few hours, i'm going to really switch gears, i apologize, i've been getting so many questions about why it took so long to secure the capitol and, you know, we've been talking to martha about the national guard and we've been, you know, talking about some of -- to law enforcement about the steps they have to go through to secure a building, but i grew up miles from two military bases where i have seen fighter jets scrambled

in minutes. iave seen military in d.c., where rick and i live, i have seen military march down streets fast when we have to. and we just didn't see that visibly on tv today and that wa. urprising to feel like it took so long. and i think that's something else that we're going to have to -- >> in some ways it's a metaphor for our time. we saw it happening and almost didn't believe it could actually go all the way. they would actually go to the capitol, they would be let into the capitol, they would break through the barricades and this would all unfold. not here, not in washington, d.c., not in the united states of america. >> we didn't expect it and clearly they didn't prepare for it properly. >> we're going to take a break right now. i'll be back at 8:00 with prime time coverage all through the night with our team. "world news tonight" with david muir is going to air to the whole country right now in this extraordinary day across the country. the u.s. capitol under siege from rioters incited by

president trump. "world news tonight" with david muir is right now. tonight, the horror and chaos and the sadness over what has played out in our nation's capitol. images not seen in modern american history. a mob storming capitol hill. the capitol building under siege. trump supporters, fueled by the president's own words this morning, smashing through the doors of the u.s. capitol. thousands breaching barricades, overwhelming police. all of this as a joint session of congress but trying to certify president-elect joe biden's victory. amid growing pressure from president trump on vice president mike pence. what pence could be heard saying before being whisked away by the secret service. pence then issuing this statement. "the violence and destruction taking place at the u.s. capitol must stop and it must stop now." the mob pounding on doors, smashing windows. the armed standoff inside the building