Washington imposes Curfew over pro Trump protest

Washington Mayor, Muriel Bowers has ordered a citywide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT).

Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters converged on the Capitol, where lawmakers were debating the final certification of the presidential election.

Crowd control largely fell to the Metropolitan Police Department, which mobilized all 3,750 officers, the Capitol Police, the Park Police, the U.S. Secret Service, and more than 300 members of the city’s National Guard, according to Washington police chief, Robert Contee and other officials.

Congress was due to confirm Biden’s victory on Wednesday. Many of Trump’s fellow Republicans have promised a stonewalling effort that could stretch proceedings past midnight but was almost certain to fail.

Vice President Mike Pence opened the proceedings in his constitutional role as president of the Senate.

He said in a statement that while he shared the concerns about the “integrity” of the election, it was not correct that he should be able to accept or reject electoral votes unilaterally.

The U.S. Constitution does not give Pence the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the election, but he is under pressure to do so from Trump.

In his remarks at the rally, Trump repeatedly made clear his frustration with Pence if he didn’t stop Congress from certifying the result.