D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued a citywide curfew starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday after supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol building.
“During the hours of the curfew, no person, other than persons designated by the Mayor, shall walk, bike, run, loiter, stand or motor by car or other mode of transport upon any street, alley, park or other public place within the District,” the mayor said in a statement.
Today, I’m ordering a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 7. pic.twitter.com/lp6Pt3DcYC
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 6, 2021
The curfew order indicated it does not apply to essential workers and reporters with credentialed media outlets. Bowser added in a follow-up tweet that public COVID-19 testing locations will be closed during the duration of the curfew, which ends at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Bowser and other local leaders have urged residents to avoid downtown D.C. for the duration of the pro-Trump demonstrations, according to WTOL. “I am joining Mayor Bowser and other regional leaders in urging our residents to avoid demonstrations by protesters supporting President Trump’s erroneous claims that the election was fraudulent,” Maryland’s Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement.
In a developing story, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building during a Wednesday march in protest of the expected Electoral College certification by a joint session of Congress. A group of 13 senators and around 140 representatives announced they would object to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.
Multiple videos shared on social media indicate the protests quickly became riots as demonstrators broke glass windows and brawled with Capitol police. (RELATED: Tom Cotton Calls For Rioters To Be Fully Prosecuted)
D.C. Metropolitan Police said they made multiple arrests ahead of Wednesday’s demonstrations, according to NBC News. Six people were arrested on charges including possession of unregistered firearms and assaulting police officers. Law enforcement also announced multiple road closures in a series of tweets Wednesday morning.