海角大神

Under battle flags bearing President Donald Trump鈥檚 name,聽the Capitol鈥檚 attackers聽pinned a bloodied police officer in a doorway, his twisted face and screams captured on video. They mortally wounded another officer with a blunt weapon and body-slammed a third over a railing into the crowd.

鈥淗ang Mike Pence!鈥� the insurrectionists chanted as they pressed inside, beating police with pipes. They demanded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 whereabouts, too. They hunted any and all lawmakers: 鈥淲here are they?鈥� Outside, makeshift gallows stood, complete with sturdy wooden steps and the noose. Guns and pipe bombs had been stashed in the vicinity.

Only days later is the extent of the danger from one of the darkest episodes in American democracy coming into focus. The sinister nature of the assault has become evident, betraying the crowd as a force determined to occupy the inner sanctums of Congress and run down leaders 鈥� Mr. Trump鈥檚 vice president and the Democratic House speaker among them.

This was not just a collection of Trump supporters with MAGA bling caught up in a wave.

That revelation came in real time to Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who briefly took over proceedings in the House chamber as the mob closed in Wednesday and the speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, was spirited to safer quarters moments before everything went haywire.

鈥淚 saw this crowd of people banging on that glass screaming,鈥� Mr. McGovern told The Associated Press on Sunday. 鈥淟ooking at their faces, it occurred to me, these aren鈥檛 protesters. These are people who want to do harm.鈥�

鈥淲hat I saw in front of me,鈥� he said, 鈥渨as basically home-grown fascism, out of control.鈥�

Ms. Pelosi said Sunday 鈥渢he evidence is that it was a well-planned, organized group with leadership and guidance and direction. And the direction was to go get people.鈥� She did not elaborate on that point in a 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� interview on CBS.

The scenes of rage, violence, and agony are so vast that the whole of it may still be beyond comprehension. But with countless smartphone videos emerging from the scene, much of it from gloating insurrectionists themselves, and more lawmakers recounting the chaos that was around them, contours of the uprising are increasingly coming into relief.

The staging

The mob got explicit marching orders from Mr. Trump and still more encouragement from the president鈥檚 men.

鈥淔ight like hell,鈥� Mr. Trump exhorted his partisans at the rally held before the storming of the Capitol. 鈥淟et鈥檚 have trial by combat,鈥� implored his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, whose attempt to throw out election results in trial by courtroom failed. It鈥檚 time to 鈥渟tart taking down names and kicking ass,鈥� said Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama.

Criminals pardoned by Mr. Trump, among them Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, came forward at rallies on the eve of the attack to tell the crowds they were fighting a battle between good and evil and they were on the side of good. On Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri gave a clenched-fist salute to the hordes outside the Capitol as he pulled up to press his challenge of the election results.

The crowd was pumped. Until a little after 2 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was at the helm for the final minutes of decorum in partnership with Mr. Pence, who was serving his ceremonial role presiding over the process of certifying the Electoral College votes.

Both men had backed Mr. Trump鈥檚 agenda and excused or ignored his provocations for four years, but now had no mechanism or will to subvert the election won by Mr. Biden. That placed them high among the insurrectionists鈥� targets, no different in the minds of the mob than the 鈥渟ocialists.鈥�

鈥淚f this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,鈥� Mr. McConnell told his chamber, not long before things spiraled out of control in what lawmakers call the 鈥淧eople鈥檚 House.鈥�

The assault

Thousands had swarmed the Capitol. They charged into police and metal barricades outside the building, shoving and hitting officers in their way. The assault quickly pushed through the vastly outnumbered police line; officers ran down one man and pummeled him.

In the melee outside, near the structure built for President-elect Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration on Jan. 20, a man threw a red fire extinguisher at the helmeted head of a police officer. Then he picked up a bullhorn and threw it at officers, too.

The identity of the officer could not immediately be confirmed. But Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was wounded in the chaos, died the next night; officials say he had been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Capitol Police sent an alert telling workers in a House office building to head to underground transportation tunnels that criss-cross the complex. Minutes later, Mr. Pence was taken from the Senate chamber to a secret location and police announced the lockdown of the Capitol. 鈥淵ou may move throughout the building(s) but stay away from exterior windows and doors,鈥� said the email blast. 鈥淚f you are outside, seek cover.鈥�

At 2:15 p.m., the Senate recessed its Electoral College debate and a voice was heard over the chamber鈥檚 audio system: 鈥淭he protesters are in the building.鈥� The doors of the House chamber were barricaded and lawmakers inside it were told they may need to duck under their chairs or relocate to cloakrooms off the House floor because the mob has breached the Capitol Rotunda.

Even before the mob reached sealed doors of the House chamber, Capitol Police pulled Ms. Pelosi away from the podium, she told 鈥�60 Minutes.鈥�

鈥淚 said, 鈥楴o, I want to be here,鈥欌�漵he said. 鈥淎nd they said, 鈥榃ell, no, you have to leave.鈥� I said, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 not leaving.鈥� They said, 鈥楴o, you must leave.鈥欌�� So she did.

At 2:44 p.m., as lawmakers inside the House chamber prepared to be evacuated, a gunshot was heard from right outside, in the Speaker鈥檚 Lobby on the other side of the barricaded doors. That鈥檚 when Ashli Babbit, wearing a Trump flag like a cape, was shot to death on camera as insurrectionists railed.

The Air Force veteran from California had climbed through a broken window into the Speaker鈥檚 Lobby before a police officer鈥檚 gunshot felled her.

Although the Capitol鈥檚 attackers had been sent with Mr. Trump鈥檚 exhortation to fight, they appeared in some cases to be surprised that they had actually made it in.

When they breached the abandoned Senate chamber, they milled around, rummaged through papers, sat at desks, and took videos and pictures. One of them climbed to the dais and yelled, 鈥淭rump won that election!鈥� However, two others were photographed carrying flex cuffs 鈥� typically used for mass arrests.

Outside the chamber, the mob鈥檚 hunt was still on for lawmakers. 鈥淲here are they?鈥� people could be heard yelling.

That question could have also applied to reinforcements 鈥� where were they?

At about 5:30 p.m., once the National Guard had arrived to supplement the overwhelmed Capitol Police force, a full-on effort began to get the attackers out.

Heavily armed officers brought in as reinforcements started using tear gas in a coordinated fashion to get people moving toward the door, then combed the halls for stragglers. As darkness fell, they pushed the mob farther out onto the plaza and lawn, using officers in riot gear in full shields and clouds of tear gas, flash-bangs, and percussion grenades.

At 7:23 p.m., officials announced that people hunkered down in two nearby congressional office buildings could leave 鈥渋f anyone must.鈥�

Within the hour, the Senate had resumed its work and the House followed, returning the People鈥檚 House to the control of the people鈥檚 representatives. Lawmakers affirmed Mr. Biden鈥檚 election victory early the next morning, shell-shocked by the catastrophic failure of security.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Ca., told AP on Sunday it was as if Capitol Police 鈥渨ere naked鈥� against the attackers. 鈥淚t turns out it was the worst kind of non-security anybody could ever imagine.鈥�

Said Mr. McGovern: 鈥淚 was in such disbelief this could possibly happen. These domestic terrorists were in the People鈥檚 House, desecrating the People鈥檚 House, destroying the People鈥檚 House.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Dustin Weaver in Washington and Michael Casey in Concord, New Hampshire contributed to this report. Reeves reported from Birmingham, Alabama.