McConnell Says Senate Will Not Be Intimidated, Will Complete Electoral Vote Count

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks on the Senate floor as the Senate reconvened after a mob stormed into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

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The top Senate Republican did not mention President Trump, or his role encouraging his supporters to convene at the Capitol.

As the chaos erupted inside and outside the building and McConnell and top leaders were rushed to a secure location, the president released a short video sympathizing with the violent mob and urging them to go home peacefully.

«We’ve never been deterred before and we will not be deterred today,» McConnell said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had «never lived through or even imagined an experience like the one we have witnessed at this Capitol.» He said those who disrupted the proceedings should not be called «protesters» but «goons» and «domestic terrorists.» He mentioned that a woman was killed and said, «This will be a stain on our country not so easily washed away.»

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation tells NPR that the alleged shooter was a senior Capitol Police officer.

Schumer directly pointed to the president as the responsible for promoting «conspiracy theories that motivated» those who stormed the building.