A man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at officers in Washington, D.C.

U.S Capitol Police said they were alerted to the man Wednesday afternoon. The officers said the suspect was trying to light the Molotov cocktail when he threw it at them and tried to get away. However, the officers managed to stop him.

“Both of our officers were treated for minor injuries. Thankfully they are going to be OK,” said acting Assistant Chief of Police for Uniformed Operations Sean Gallagher.

The man also had an explosive device made with a tequila bottle and a petroleum-based accelerant, police said.

It's unclear what the man was planning to do with the Molotov cocktails, but police said there's no indication he was targeting the U.S. Capitol or members of Congress.

He's facing charges of assault on a police officer, possession of a Molotov cocktail and assault with a deadly weapon.

Four people were taken to Washington area hospitals with life-threatening injuries after lightning struck near the White House amid a strong storm that blew through the U.S. capital.

On Friday morning, officials confirmed James Mueller, 76 & Donna Mueller, 75, died from the lightning strikes.

The U.S. Secret Service, along with U.S. Park Police, rushed to help two females and two males after seeing a large bolt of lightning strike an area in Lafayette Square, according to Vito Maggiolo, who is a public information officer for D.C. Fire and EMS who spoke to NBC Washington.

The area is just across from the White House, within a short walking distance. Authorities could not give exact injuries or an update on the victim's statuses as of late Thursday night.

As NBC Washington reported, a witness named David Root said he was "in a state of shock." He said, "I just couldn't believe it. Was surreal. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.”

Root described hearing "a horrific boom" and said he goes to Lafayette Square park in the evening to show support for the people of Ukraine.

A camera trained on the White House used by television stations captured the moment the bolt of lightning hit the area.

Mike Thomas, a meteorologist in Washington, said the bolt "clearly hits either the ground or [a] nearby tree" because sparks are visible in the video.

The White House responded to Thursday's incident.

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Maggiolo told the New York Times that “Trees of course, are not safe places” during storms. Lafayette Square is covered in shade trees located in downtown D.C. in an area near tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and bars.

The strike happened around 6:50 p.m. local time, where the two men and two women were located, in an area across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House in Lafayette Square, in their “immediate vicinity," Maggiolo said.

The CDC says about 90% of people survive lightning strikes, and the odds of being struck by lightning in any given year is less than one in a million.

WASHINGTON — The reality is political violence is a real threat facing our country.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued bulletins and so has the FBI. Examples have even emerged in recent weeks of the threats officials of both political parties are facing.

This summer, after the Supreme Court decision on abortion, a man was arrested with a gun and charged with attempting to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh near the justice's home.

In July, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY) was attacked by a man at a political rally.

This past week, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal revealed to the Washington Post that an armed man yelled outside her home in Seattle for over an hour.

Also, there was the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump's residence at Mar-a-lago, and the FBI office in Cincinnati was attacked by a Navy veteran, who police say had extremist ties.

On Capitol Hill in 2017, there were around 3,900 threats against members of Congress, according to Capitol Police records.

Last year, there were over 9,600.

OPENING UP

One Member of Congress has been especially forthcoming about the threats he is facing. Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of only two Republicans on the January 6th committee, posted on Twitter audio of some of the threatening voicemails his office has received.

"I pray that it be God's will that you suffer," one caller said.

"We know where you live," another called threatened.

INCREASED SECURITY

Those threats, as well as others, have resulted in taxpayers footing the bill for more security for members of Congress. Typically, only those in senior leadership positions, like the Speaker of the House or the minority leader, are given protection.

In recent weeks, security officials at the capitol have approved $10,000 worth of security upgrades for the homes of members of Congress to pay for things like new alarms, doors or lighting.

ISSUE FOR VOTERS

Voters are beginning to take these threats seriously and some recent polls are showing the threat of political violence driving some voters this election.

In fact, a CBS/Yougov poll from late August shows that 64% of Americans believe political violence will increase from here.

In January of 2021, after the January 6th attack, only 51% of Americans thought that.

A recent NBC poll identified the threat of political violence as a driving force among voters this election.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol announced Tuesday that it had postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday as a hurricane hurtled toward the Florida coast.

Related video above: Footage of Trump recording an address to the nation a day after Capitol attack shown at last Jan. 6 committee hearing

The committee had planned to hold what was likely to be its final investigative hearing Wednesday afternoon, but members decided at the last minute to delay it as it became clear that Hurricane Ian was churning on a collision course toward Florida, where it was expected to strengthen into a catastrophic Category 4 storm.

“We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path," committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "The Select Committee’s investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings.”

The committee had not yet provided a specific agenda for the Wednesday hearing, but Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said over the weekend it would “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.”

This week's hearing was intended to close the series of public hearings the nine-member panel embarked on in early June. Throughout eight hearings, the committee — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — sought to show the American public in great detail how former President Trump ignored many of his closest advisers and amplified his false claims of election fraud after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Some of the more than 1,000 witnesses interviewed by the panel — a number of them Trump’s closest allies — recounted in videotaped testimony how the former president declined to act when hundreds of his supporters violently attacked the Capitol as Congress certified Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021. But the committee has said its work isn't done.

During the August recess, congressional investigators continued to interview witnesses, including several of Trump's cabinet members, some of whom had discussed invoking the constitutional process in the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the insurrection.

Cheney had previously said the committee “has far more evidence to share with the American people and more to gather.”

There are also many questions surrounding the effort to overturn the election that remain unanswered as the committee goes into its final three months of work.

Panel members still want to get to the bottom of missing Secret Service texts from Jan. 5-6, 2021, which could shed further light on Trump’s actions during the insurrection, particularly after earlier testimony about his confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol. Thompson said earlier this month that the committee has recently obtained “thousands” of documents from the Secret Service.

Last week, the committee was able to secure an interview with conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who’s married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Lawmakers want to know more about her role in trying to help Trump overturn the election. She contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin as part of that effort.

And the last, but possibly most consequential decision left on the committee's plate is how aggressively to pursue testimony from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.

The panel will have to wrap up these loose ends by the end of the year, when the select committee status expires. If Republicans take the majority in November’s elections, as they are favored to do, they are expected to dissolve the committee in January. So the panel is planning to issue a final report by the end of December that will include legislative reforms to help prevent future attempts to subvert democracy.

WASHINGTON —

There are two searing scenes of Nancy Pelosi confronting the violent extremism that spilled into the open late in her storied political career. In one, she's uncharacteristically shaken in a TV interview as she recounts the brutal attack on her husband.

In the other, the House speaker rips open a package of beef jerky with her teeth during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, while on the phone with Mike Pence, instructing the Republican vice president how to stay safe from the mob that came for them both. "Don’t let anybody know where you are,” she said.

That Pelosi, composed and in command at a time of chaos, tart but proper at every turn, is the one whom lawmakers have obeyed, tangled with, respected and feared for two decades.

She is the most powerful woman in American politics and one of the most consequential legislative leaders. Now, at 82, in the face of political loss and personal trauma, she is closing her era.

Pelosi announced Thursday she would not seek a Democratic leadership position in the Congress that convenes in January, when Republicans take control. Pelosi will remain in Congress.

“Never would I have thought that I would go from homemaker to House speaker,” she allowed. On her future, she told reporters: "I like to dance, I like to sing. There’s a life out there, right?”

Polarizing and combative, Pelosi nevertheless forged compromises with Republicans on historic legislation, on health care, roads, student debt relief, climate change and more.

Even former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich, a self-described “partisan conservative who thinks that most of her positions are insane,” said Pelosi had a “remarkable” run.

“Totally dominant,” Gingrich said of her. “She’s clearly one of the strongest speakers in history. She has shown enormous perseverance and discipline."

Bono, who worked with Pelosi over the years on combating AIDS, said in a statement to the AP after a performance Thursday night in Scotland: “When the story of the end of AIDS is written, Nancy Pelosi’s name will stand out in boldface.”

“I am honored to have learned so much from her grit and grace, and to call her a friend,” he added.

Many fellow Democrats, at one point or another, earned her look of icy disapproval, not just the other side.

“Politics is tough,” she said in 2015, “but intraparty? Oh, brother.”

Pelosi prevailed — for nearly 20 years as House Democratic leader including nearly eight as speaker in two stints — with hard-nosed sentiments like these:

“Whoever votes against the speaker will pay a price.” — to Democrats who resisted her push for a select committee on climate change early in her speakership.

“Nobody’s walking out of here saying anything, if they want to keep an intact neck.” — to negotiators trying to work out a 2007 House-Senate compromise to restrain pork, according to the notes of John A. Lawrence, her then-chief of staff and author of a new insider book on her speakership, “Arc of Power."

Sometimes, she could snap her lawmakers into line without a word.

A flick of her hand silenced Democrats who cheered when the House first passed articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, for Pelosi was a stickler for decorum. But not always.

She ripped her copy of Trump's 2020 State of the Union speech, on the dais behind him, on camera. The theatrical protest raised questions about whether Pelosi, in that moment, had become what she despised in Trump.

“He has shredded the truth in his speech, shredded the Constitution in his conduct — I shredded the address,” she said crisply. “Thank you all very much.”

Republicans pilloried her as “Darth Nancy” back in 2006 and the villainization got uglier, complete with gun imagery, as the years passed.

“She was, she is, the personification of the San Francisco liberal,” Lawrence said. “It was made to order for them."

But "there was a viciousness. The fact that she fit that bill so perfectly — a smart, attractive, effective woman ... they knew they could caricature and stigmatize things about her, her appearance and style, in a way that was a very effective dog whistle of misogyny.”

She would never publicly attribute the attacks to the fact she's a woman, Lawrence said. “She would say, ‘They did it because I’m effective.'" Then “pretend to flick dust” off her immaculate jacket.

“Darth Nancy” was a quaint, faraway insult by the time the pro-Trump mob came looking for her that Jan. 6. Their sign at the Capitol said, “Pelosi is Satan.”

Rifling through her desk, they found a pair of boxing gloves. Pink ones.

Pelosi honed the art of aiming high, then disappointing one faction of her party or another without losing core support. Rare is the major achievement that was as far left as the party's left wing wanted.

But many are the achievements. She settled for an “Obamacare” bill, for example, that did not give everyone the option of government health insurance, but did, over time, expand access to health care.

She crushed toes along the way.

“Her instincts are to find a path and if you happen to be standing in the hole, she’s going to treat you like a running back," said political scientist Cal Jillson at Southern Methodist University. "If she can go through you, fine. If not, you’re headed to the medicine tent.”

Pelosi faced none of the questions about sharpness that dog Biden, 80 on Sunday. She still races around Congress, in high heels, at a pace people half her age can find hard to match.

But concern had grown in the ranks about the crowd of older Democratic leaders still in charge.

Leon Panetta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, said Pelosi “probably could have spent more time building a stronger bench in terms of leadership in the House and trying to make sure that others could follow in her path.”

Her fundraising prowess was one key to success.

“This is why the Democrats had more money than God," said Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan. "She was magic, and I don’t think she lost a vote.”

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol has asked for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's voluntary cooperation.

In a letter to McCarthy, committee chairman Bennie G. Thompson notes the Republican's public statements about speaking with former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6.

He told Norah O'Donnell of CBS News that he was "very clear with the president" when he called him.

"This has to stop and he has to go to the American public and tell them to stop this," McCarthy said.

Thompson claims McCarthy can provide the committee with information about Trump’s state of mind during the attack.

The committee also wants to question McCarthy about conversations he had with Trump and White House staff days after the attack.

Thompson said the committee would like to meet with McCarthy in early February but added that it would accommodate his schedule.

Late Wednesday, McCarthy issued a statement that says the "investigation is not legitimate."

He went on to say he will not participate in the investigation.

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Harry Reid is lying in state at the U.S. Capitol as colleagues and friends pay tribute to a hardscrabble Democrat who served five terms in the Senate.

In a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda — which was closed to the public under COVID-19 protocols — current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer remembered Reid as "one of the most generous and incredible people" he's ever met.

"Few have shaped the workings of this building quite like our friend from Nevada," Schumer said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remembered the longtime lawmaker from tiny Searchlight, Nevada, as being "defined by defying long odds."

President Joe Biden made a surprise stop at the Capitol to pay his respects.

Reid died on Dec. 28 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 82. Family and friends honored Reid at a funeral service in Las Vegas over the weekend. Biden was among those in attendance.

Reid rose from poverty in a dusty Nevada mining town to the most powerful position in the U.S. Senate. He was first elected as a senator in 1986. Including two terms in the House, Reid was the longest-serving Nevadan in Congress.

Former Vice President Mike Pence will likely be asked to voluntarily appear before the congressional committee investigating
the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

in an interview with NPR, Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the committee, said he expects the committee to make the request before the month is over.

Pence was overseeing the Electoral College vote count when rioters stormed the Capitol.

Upset with Pence for refusing to help overturn Joe Biden's win over then-President Donald Trump, some protesters chanted, "Hang Mike Pence."

Pence was ushered to safety while rioters overtook the Capitol.

Thompson noted that Pence was in a "tough spot" on Jan. 6 after facing a public pressure campaign to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election.

"So, if for no other reason, our committee really needs to hear what are his opinions about what happened on Jan. 6," Thompson said.

The committee is scheduled to meet next week about how to seek Pence's cooperation, NPR reported.

WASHINGTON —

Intelligence reports compiled by the U.S. Capitol Police in the days before last year's insurrection envisioned only an improbable or remote risk of violence, even as other assessments warned that crowds of potentially thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators could converge in Washington and create a dangerous situation.

The documents, obtained by The Associated Press, underscore the uneven and muddled intelligence that circulated to Capitol Police officers ahead of the Jan. 6 riot, when thousands of Donald Trump loyalists swarmed the Capitol complex and clashed violently with law enforcement officers in their effort to disrupt the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. The intelligence reports in particular show how the police agency, up to the day of the riot itself, grievously underestimated the prospect of chaotic violence and disruptions.

The contradictory intelligence produced by law enforcement leading up to the riot has been at the forefront of congressional scrutiny about the Jan. 6 preparations and response, with officials struggling to explain how they failed to anticipate and plan for the deadly riot at the Capitol that day. The shortcomings led to upheaval at the top ranks of the department, including the ouster of the chief, though the assistant chief in charge of protective and intelligence operations at the time remains in her position.

There was, according to a harshly critical Senate report issued in June, “a lack of consensus about the gravity of the threat posed on January 6, 2021.”

“Months following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, there is still no consensus among USCP officials about the intelligence reports’ threat analysis ahead of January 6, 2021,” the report stated.

The documents, known as a “daily intelligence report” and marked “For Official Use Only,” have been described over the last year in congressional testimony and in the Senate report. The AP on Friday evening obtained full versions of the documents for Jan. 4, 5 and 6 of last year. The New York Times highlighted the Jan. 4 report in a story last year on intelligence shortcomings.

On each of the three days, the documents showed, the Capitol Police ranked as “highly improbable” the probability of acts of civil disobedience and arrests arising from the “Stop the Steal” protest planned for the Capitol. The documents ranked that event and gatherings planned for Jan 6. by about 20 other organizers on a scale of “remote” to “nearly certain” in terms of the likelihood of major disruptions. All were rated as either “remote," “highly improbable" or “improbable,” the documents show.

“No further information has been found to the exact actions planned by this group,” the Jan. 6 report says about the “Stop the Steal” rally.

The Million MAGA March planned by Trump supporters is rated in the document as “improbable,” with officials saying it was “possible” that organizers could demonstrate at the Capitol complex, and that though there had been talk of counter-demonstrators, there are “no clear plans by those groups at this time.”

Another event by a group known as Prime Time Patriots was similarly described as having a “highly improbable” chance for disruption, with the report again stating that “no further information has been found to the exact actions planned by this group.”

Those optimistic forecasts are tough to square with separate intelligence assessments compiled by the Capitol Police in late December and early January. Those documents, also obtained by AP, warned that crowds could number in the thousands and include members of extremist groups like the Proud Boys.

A Jan. 3, 2021, memo, for instance, warned of a “significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike" because of the potential attendance of "white supremacists, militia members and others who actively promote violence."

“Unlike previous post-election protests, the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counter-protestors as they were previously, but rather Congress itself is the target on the 6th," the report states.

Adding to the mixed intelligence portrait is a Jan. 5 bulletin prepared by the FBI's Norfolk field office that warned of the potential for “war” at the Capitol. Capitol Police leaders have said they were unaware of that document at the time. FBI Director Chris Wray has said the report was disseminated through the FBI’s joint terrorism task force, discussed at a command post in Washington and posted on an internet portal available to other law enforcement agencies.

Capitol Police officials have repeatedly insisted that they had no specific or credible intelligence that any demonstration at the Capitol would result in a large-scale attack on the building. Despite scrutiny of intelligence shortcomings, Yogananda Pittman, the assistant chief in charge of intelligence at the time of the riot, remains in that position.

The current police chief, J. Thomas Manger, defended Pittman in a September interview with the AP, pointing to her decision when she was acting chief to implement recommendations made by the inspector general and to expand the department’s internal intelligence capabilities so officers wouldn’t need to rely so heavily on intelligence gathered by other law enforcement agencies.

WASHINGTON —

Bob Dole will lie in state Thursday at the U.S. Capitol, as the president and others gather to pay tribute to an “American giant” who served the country in war and in politics with pragmatism, self-deprecating wit and a bygone era's sense of common civility.

President Joe Biden is expected to offer remarks at the morning ceremony with invited guests and congressional leaders in the Capitol Rotunda for the former Republican senator and presidential contender. Dole, who served nearly 36 years in Congress, died Sunday at the age of 98.

“For those like me who had the honor of calling him a friend, Bob Dole was an American giant,” President Joe Biden said in a Wednesday speech in Kansas City, Mo.

Biden, a Democrat, called Dole, a Republican, “a man of extraordinary courage, both physical and moral courage. A war hero, who sacrificed beyond measure. Who nearly gave his life for our country in World War II. Among the greatest of the great generation.”

The service will be the first of several in Washington commemorating Dole’s life and legacy. Thursday’s event at the Capitol and Friday's funeral at the Washington National Cathedral are closed to the public. But Dole's funeral will be livestreamed Friday at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, and his motorcade is are expected to stop by later at an event with actor Tom Hanks honoring his life and military service before the casket travels to his Kansas hometown and the state capital.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Dole was a “patriot from the start” and an “exemplary person to serve with in Congress.”

“He served at a time when there was mutual respect, even though disagreement on many issues, across the aisle, across the Capitol,” Pelosi said Wednesday. “I found him to be a man of his word. Everybody did.”

Black draperies hung on doorways under the Capitol dome in preparation for the service. A lectern was positioned in way that the statue of another Kansas stateman, Dwight Eisenhower, will likely be seen in the background behind the day's speakers.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, now the longest-serving Republican Senate leader, said Dole idolized Eisenhower, calling the former president and general a hero who embodied “the finest qualities of the American people.”

“We can say with certainty that Eisenhower isn’t the only Kansan who meets those standards,” McConnell said in a speech earlier this week.

Born a child of the Dust Bowl in Russell, Kan., Dole suffered paralyzing and near-fatal wounds after being shot in World War II that sent him home with a severely damaged right arm that he could not use to shake hands. Instead, Dole held a pen in it and reached out with his left as a way to put greeters at ease.

After earning a law degree, he worked as county attorney and served as a Kansas state legislator before running for Congress in 1960, joining the House for eight years then going on to win the Senate seat. He was the GOP's presidential nominee in 1996, his third and final campaign for president — a race he never won.

Dole’s quick wit was on display after losing the presidential contest to incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton, who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom days before the 1997 inauguration.

McConnell said when it was time for Dole’s remarks, he stood at the podium and began: “I, Robert J. Dole … so solemnly swear … oh, sorry, wrong speech!”

But that humor was rarely seen on the campaign trail or in his public pronouncements, where it could have helped him win more votes.

Instead, Dole was seen as a GOP “hatchet man,” a mentee of Richard Nixon and chairman of the Republican National Committee during the Watergate era. He went on to become the sharp-tongued vice presidential running mate to Gerald Ford, another lost race.

But it was Dole's long career in the Senate where he grew to see the value of reaching across the aisle to Democrats and secured his more lasting achievements — most notably the Americans with Disabilities Act that to this day ensures a level of accessibility as a civil right.

At times, Dole bucked his own party, particularly on a landmark tax bill, and helped create the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.

The former senator announced in February 2021 a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer. Biden visited Dole at his home at the Watergate complex.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In Washington, DC, the buzz of the town is President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill. But one thing that’s not being talked about is something called SALT.

“The problem is, this policy is very, very expensive and regressive,” said Maya MacGuineas, the president of the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

MacGuineas has been very focused on SALT in recent weeks.

So, what is SALT? Clearly, we're not talking about the table seasoning, but "state and local taxes" and deductions you may or may not be able to take on your federal tax return. Before 2017, there was no limit on how much of the state and local taxes an individual paid that they could deduct from the federal tax return but in 2017, former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts changed that.

“You add all those state and local taxes together and they were capped at a deduction of $10,000,” said Sharon Lassar, the director of The School of Accountancy at the University of Denver.

She has been following the news around SALT and the bill. The most recent proposal would increase the SALT cap from $10,000 to more than $72,000, reducing the overall tax burden for some.

“In this package, 80% of the benefits go to people making over $200,000 per year,” said MacGuineas. “This is not the targeted low-income people that a lot of people expect in this bill.”

So, who exactly benefits from the SALT cap repeal? It’s individuals with high incomes in states with high-income taxes. So, think New York, New Jersey, and California.

“The average person probably doesn’t pay more than $10,000 in state and local taxes,” said MacGuineas. “About 50% of this is going to the very richest 1% and they, on average, would be getting an annual tax break of over $35,000.”

A big advocate for the removal of the SALT cap is Rep. Thomas Souzzi from New York. He recently said in a statement, “This fix will put money back in the pockets of hardworking, middle-class families in our districts,” but would not respond to our requests for an interview.

One thing to keep in mind: no text draft of this bill has been released to the public yet. So, we are only getting this from people working on the bill.

Former President Donald Trump is suing to stop the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol from obtaining documents from his administration.

The lawsuit accuses committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, of harassing Trump and his allies by sending "an illegal, unfounded, and overbroad records request to the Archivist of the United States."

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C, also criticizes President Joe Biden, who declined to assert executive privilege over the documents.

"In a political ploy to accommodate his partisan allies, President Biden has refused to assert executive privilege over numerous clearly privileged documents requested by the committee," the lawsuit states.

According to CNN, the National Archives is scheduled to turn over the documents to Congress in December.

Numerous people have been subpoenaed in the investigation. Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, has declined to cooperate.

The committee said it would begin the steps Tuesday to hold him in contempt of Congress

The White House said Monday that there is no basis for Bannon to avoid testifying. It added that Trump's privilege claim is ‘not justified.’

Rumors began emerging from far-right circles claiming the pro-Trump mob of protesters that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday was made up or infiltrated by members of antifa, despite no evidence of this being the case.

Several posts, particularly on the right-leaning social media platform Parler, shared images that posters claimed as evidence antifa demonstrators were behind the riot. The images did not, however, show any antifa involvement, and in many instances suggested ties to far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys, or conspiracy movements like QAnon.

President Donald Trump, in a now-deleted video to his supporters, even acknowledged the group as his supporters, saying "we love you" and repeating a baseless claim the election was stolen from them. The riot began after Trump, speaking at a rally, directed the crowd to go to the Capitol.

Related video: Trump urges Capitol protesters to 'go home now'

One frequent act of misinformation being spread is to show a picture of a member of the mob of protesters side by side with a picture of the same person at a Black Lives Matter rally or among a group of antifa members. However these images often leave out context as to whether the person in question was at these rallies as an ally or a counter-protester to groups like BLM.

A frequently employed example being the well-recognized man wearing a horned headdress who was a part of the riot. A picture of him attending a BLM protest is often shared suggesting he is secretly an antifa supporter, but while at the BLM protest, he held a counter-protest sign saying "Q SENT ME." The sign is often cropped out.

On Twitter, there were more than 1,250 posts from accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory about Wednesday's protests containing terms of violence since Jan. 1. The most basic QAnon belief casts President Trump as the hero in a fight against the "deep state" and a sinister cabal of Democratic politicians and celebrities who abuse children.

One post from a QAnon-related account retweeted a post with a baseless conspiracy theory that Democrats, Black Lives Matter activists, and Antifa protestors were planning to kill Trump supporters and advocated for whoever noticed these individuals to get "rid of them."

Despite the lack of evidence, U.S. Congressmen, Louie Gohmert, R-TX, and Mo Brooks, R-AL, spread this conspiracy theory on Twitter. Later Wednesday night, Congressman Matt Goetz, R-FL, also pushed these false claims while speaking to the House.

Lin Wood, a pro-Trump attorney who is involved with the QAnon movement, sent several viral tweets that falsely claimed that members of antifa were inside the Capitol. A commonly shared image he posted features a bearded man wearing a hoodie seen among the mob inside the Capitol posted with another photo of supposedly the same person, the second photo having come from “PhillyAntifa.org,” suggesting he is actually antifa.

“Indisputable photographic evidence that antifa violently broke into Congress today to inflict harm & do damage,” Wood said on Twitter. “NOT @realDonaldTrump supporters.”

But the page on phillyantifa.org is not of him being involved with the group, but of the group accusing him to be a member of a neo-Nazi group.

CNN contributed to this report.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to take the oath of office on January 20 on the same Capitol steps that were overrun by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Among those inside the Capitol complex were Vice President Mike Pence and President-elect Kamala Harris, who both are under Secret Service protection. Also, law enforcement had weeks to prepare for Wednesday’s events as Trump has been calling for his supporters to come to Washington to “Stop the Steal.”

The failure of law enforcement to contain the crowd will come under heavy scrutiny in the coming weeks, especially with Biden’s inauguration in 13 days.

Following an address by Biden on Wednesday, the president-elect addressed concerns of inauguration security.

“I am not concerned about my safety, security, or the inauguration. I’m not concerned. The American people are going to stand up, stand up now. Enough is enough is enough," Biden said.

Late Wednesday, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser extended an emergency within the city through January 21, one day past Biden’s inauguration.

“Many persons came to the District armed and for the purpose of engaging in violence and destruction and have engaged in violence and destruction,” Bowser said announcing the order. “They have fired chemical irritants, bricks, bottles, and guns. They have breached the security of the Capitol and their destructive and riotous behavior has the potential to spread beyond the Capitol. Their motivation is ongoing. Today, they sought to disrupt the Congressional proceedings relating to the acceptance of electoral college votes. President Trump continues to fan rage and violence by contending that the Presidential election was invalid.”

The head of the U.S. Capitol Police will resign effective Jan. 16 following the breach of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Chief Steven Sund said Thursday that police had planned for a free speech demonstration and did not expect the violent attack. He said it was unlike anything he’d experienced in his 30 years in law enforcement.

He resigned Thursday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on him to step down. His resignation was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The breach halted the effort by Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Protesters stormed the building and occupied for hours. The lawmakers eventually returned and finished their work.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Authorities in Washington D.C. are asking the public to help identify persons of interest who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) released photos Thursday of numerous individuals who officers say committed various criminal acts in the district following President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally.

Most of the people in the images are facing unlawful entry charges after they violently forced their way into the Capitol. Others may also be charged for stolen property, as some took items from the building when they exited.

The insurgent mob of Pro-Trump protesters prompted the Capitol to lock down and delayed Congress from confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

In the end, four people died amid the protests that sought to overturn the election in President Donald Trump’s favor. One person was shot by a police officer, and the others suffered medical emergencies.

In a statement, Metro police said there are peaceful protests in D.C. on a daily basis and that the same rules apply for all demonstrations. So, when demonstrators destroy property or hurt others, police say they’ll take action.

“MPD rarely has to make an arrest at a demonstration but in the event that we do, know that it will be done safely and respectfully,” wrote the department.

Anyone who can identify the individuals in the released images or has knowledge of any of the incidents is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or text tips to the department's tip line at 50411.

The MPD currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.

FBI also investigating the riot

The FBI says it’s also seeking information related to the violent activity seen at the Capitol building on Wednesday. In a statement, the bureau said it’s asking the public to help identify the individuals who actively instigated violence in D.C.

If you witnessed unlawful violent actions, the FBI says to submit any information, photos or videos that could be relevant at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

“Please use this form to submit any images, videos, or other multimedia files you have related to possible violations of federal law committed,” wrote the FBI. “Our goal is to preserve the public’s constitutional right to protest by protecting everyone from violence and other criminal activity.”

You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-‪800-225-5324) to verbally report tips and/or information related to this investigation.

Cameras captured the riots at one of America's most cherished buildings.

Windows were smashed, documents spewed across offices and crowds, charging right past Capitol police.

The chaos prompted questions: What went wrong?

"They weren't prepared to deal with this mindset which is obvious, you can see the videos of it when the police were fighting with them trying to maintain the line at the building," Former Kenton County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director William Dorsey said.

Dorsey worked in law enforcement for decades.

He thinks a lack of planning contributed to the mass break-in, but wonders why the building itself wasn't better protected.

"Is there no physical barriers? Steel doors? It just amazes me," Dorsey said.

Political leaders called for a thorough review of the security failures.

Derek Bauman said last year's protests for racial justice brought a very different security response.

"Where was the rubber bullets? Where was the mass tear gassing? Where were the helicopters? Why was it there for that and not these folks and this is the most important location, the house of congress," Bauman said.

Bauman spent 26 years in law enforcement, planning and training for many types of crowd control.

Never before has he heard of something like this.

"What's going on with all the computers and stuff? Have they swepped the office for bugs? Do we know if there were bugs planted under...you don't need to be James Bond to walk in and stick something under a desk somewhere, we don't know because there's no answers and nobody's taken questions," Bauman said.

Bauman said the American people deserve answers about what happened and the actions being taken to investigate what went wrong.

A police officer has died from injuries sustained as President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, a violent siege that is forcing hard questions about the defeated president's remaining days in office and the ability of the Capitol Police to secure the area.

The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick was injured “while physically engaging with protesters" during the Wednesday riot. He is the fifth person to die because of the melee.

The rampage that has shocked the world and left the country on edge forced the resignations of three top Capitol security officials over the failure to stop the breach. It led lawmakers to demand a review of operations and an FBI briefing over what they called a “terrorist attack.” And it is prompting a broader reckoning over Trump’s tenure in office and what comes next for a torn nation.

Protesters were urged by Trump during a rally near the White House earlier Wednesday to head to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were scheduled to confirm Biden’s presidential victory. The mob swiftly broke through police barriers, smashed windows and paraded through the halls, sending lawmakers into hiding.

Five have died because of the Capitol siege. One protester, a white woman, was shot to death by Capitol Police, and there were dozens of arrests. Three other people died after “medical emergencies” related to the breach.

Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All the states have certified their results as fair and accurate, by Republican and Democratic officials alike.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said news of the police officer’s death was “gut-wrenching.”

“None of this should have happened,” Sasse said in a statement. “Lord, have mercy.”

Sicknick had returned to his division office after the incident and collapsed, the statement said. He was taken to a local hospital where he died on Thursday.

Two House Democrats on committees overseeing the Capitol police budgets said those responsible need to be held to answer for the “senseless” death.

"We must ensure that the mob who attacked the People’s House and those who instigated them are held fully accountable,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any remaining day with the president in power could be “a horror show for America.” Likewise, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the attack on the Capitol was “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," and Trump must not stay in office “one day” longer.

Pelosi and Schumer called for invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to force Trump from office before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Schumer said he and Pelosi tried to call Vice President Mike Pence early Thursday to discuss that option but were unable to connect with him.

At least one Republican lawmaker joined the effort. The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. The vice president then becomes acting president.

Pelosi said if the president’s Cabinet does not swiftly act, the House may proceed to impeach Trump.

Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, did so in a late Thursday video from the White House vowing a “seamless transition of power.”

Two Republicans who led efforts to challenge the election results, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, faced angry peers in the Senate. Cruz defended his objection to the election results as “the right thing to do” as he tried unsuccessfully to have Congress launch an investigation. In the House, Republican leaders Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana joined in the failed effort to overturn Biden’s win by objecting to the Electoral College results.

With tensions high, the Capitol shuttered and lawmakers not scheduled to return until the inauguration, an uneasy feeling of stalemate settled over a main seat of national power as Trump remained holed up at the White House.

The social media giant Facebook banned the president from its platform and Instagram for the duration of Trump's final days in office, if not indefinitely, citing his intent to stoke unrest. Twitter had silenced him the day before.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said “the shocking events" make it clear Trump “intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power.”

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, under pressure from Schumer, Pelosi and other congressional leaders, was forced to resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for and received the resignation of the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger, effective immediately. Paul Irving, the longtime Sergeant at Arms of the House, also resigned.

Sund had defended his department’s response to the storming of the Capitol, saying officers had “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions.”

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the police response “a failure.”

Lawmakers from both parties pledged to investigate and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building. The Pentagon and Justice Department had been rebuffed when they offered assistance.

Black lawmakers, in particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.

Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said if “we, as Black people did the same things that happened ... the reaction would have been different, we would have been laid out on the ground.”

The protesters ransacked the place, taking over the House area and Senate chamber and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. Outside, they scaled the walls and balconies.

Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a former police chief, said it was “painfully obvious” that Capitol police “were not prepared.”

WASHINGTON —

The CEO of a Chicago company said he was arrested after breaching the U.S. Capitol during Wednesday's violence in Washington.

Brad Rukstales, CEO of the marketing technology firm Cogensia, apologized for what he called a "moment of extremely poor judgment."

"It was the single worst personal decision of my life," Rukstales said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Cogensia, based in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, sought to distance itself from its CEO, whom the company said has been placed on leave of absence.

"Mr. Rukstales' actions were his own; he was not acting on behalf of our company nor do his actions in any way reflect the policies or values of our firm," Cogensia said in a statement posted on LinkedIn.

Neither Rukstales nor Cogensia were reachable for further comment. The U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment to confirm the arrest.

Five people died as a result of Wednesday's insurrection, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. A federal murder investigation has been opened into the officer's death. House Democrats plan to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as early as Monday for "incitement of insurrection," according to sources familiar with the matter and a draft article obtained by CNN.

Video: U.S. Congressman questions Capitol protest security

"Without qualification and as a peaceful and law-abiding citizen, I condemn the violence and destruction that took place in Washington," Rukstales said in his statement.

The Cogensia CEO said that following the rally in Washington, he "followed hundreds of others through an open set of doors to the Capitol building to see what was taking place inside."

Rukstales said he was arrested and charged with unlawful entry.

"My decision to enter the Capitol was wrong, and I am deeply regretful to have done so," he said.

A number of other people present at Wednesday's unrest have faced consequences from their employers. Navistar, a direct marketing company in Maryland, fired an employee who was photographed wearing his company ID badge inside the U.S. Capitol building.

"While we support all employees' right to peaceful, lawful exercise of free speech, any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity with Navistar Direct Marketing," the company said in a statement provided to CNN.

Video: Scenes from Washington protests

Twitter has permanently suspended President Donald Trump's account two days after five people died following violent protests at the U.S. Capitol Building.

"After a close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence," Twitter said.

When it comes to the White House and POTUS accounts, Twitter said in an email to EW Scripps Friday evening that they won't suspend those two accounts, but "will take action to limit their use."

"As we’ve said, using another account to try to evade a suspension is against our rules," Twitter said in a statement. "We have taken steps to enforce this with regard to recent Tweets from the @POTUS account. For government accounts, such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, we will not suspend those accounts permanently but will take action to limit their use."

On Friday, Twitter also suspended accounts they say are “solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content.”

The accounts included General Michael Flynn, Trump attorney Sidney Powell, and 8kun co-owner Ron Watkins.

QAnon is a group of loosely connected conspiracy theories associated with the far-right on the political spectrum. The president has retweeted some of these baseless conspiracies.

In a statement to NBC and Buzzfeed News, Twitter said “the account(s) has/have been suspended in line with our policy on Coordinated Harmful Activity. We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm, and given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content.”

Flynn is Trump’s former National Security Advisor who pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. He was recently pardoned by President Trump. In a video posted to Twitter in July, Flynn took an oath to QAnon.

Powell was his attorney, as well as working with Trump and the Trump campaign. Both Flynn and Powell are active within the QAnon online community.

Watkins is the administrator of the website 8Kun, formerly known as 8chan, according to Buzzfeed News.

Last summer, Twitter removed thousands of accounts associated with QAnon and blocked trends on the social media site relating to the conspiracies.

According to The Verge and Axios, Reddit banned the Donald Trump subreddit on Friday "for encouraging and glorifying violence" after a violent riot erupted at the US Capitol on Wednesday.

President Trump issued a statement from the now-suspended Team Trump account, stating that in the wake of being banned from Twitter, he will be "building out" his own social media platform.

Related video: Capitol police outnumbered as rioters lay siege

Journalists were manhandled, threatened and had their equipment stolen or damaged by supporters of President Donald Trump during this week's riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The attacks, including a chilling scene distributed on social media of a photographer for The Associated Press being shoved around, led the National Press Photographers Association to call on authorities to investigate and prosecute people who targeted journalists.

“To do our jobs, photojournalists must be on the front lines to record the news,” the association said in a statement. “The threats, violence and aggression toward visual journalists are unconscionable acts that erode our democracy and our country's First Amendment rights.”

In one striking image, the words “Murder the Media” were scrawled on an indoor doorway at the Capitol.

The AP photographer, John Minchillo, is shown in a video taken by a colleague, being pushed, pulled and punched by a group of men standing outside of the Capitol. Some of the attackers are heard accusing him of being part of the left-wing group Antifa; Minchillo holds up his hands and show his press pass.

After about a minute, one of the demonstrators guides him away from his attackers. Minchillo stayed on the job.

Minchillo declined comment on Friday. On Twitter, he wrote, “Never become the story, that's the core principle. If I could ask for something? Don't linger on the outrage for too long.”

But he asked anyone who sees his message to reflect on the importance of journalism and subscribe to a local newspaper.

“While we are thankful he is OK, this is a reminder of the dangers journalists both in the U.S. and around the world face every day while simply trying to do their jobs,” said Patrick Maks, a spokesperson for the AP.

Another group of AP journalists on Wednesday had photographic equipment stolen and trashed outside the Capitol. One picture on social media saw electrical cords tied into a noose.

There were other incidents. Erin Schaff, a photojournalist for The New York Times, wrote in the newspaper about being surrounded by two or three men while in the Capitol who demanded to know who she worked for. One grabbed her press pass, saw she worked for the Times and she was thrown to the floor. One of her cameras was ripped away from her and the lens was broken on another, she wrote.

After being knocked to the ground, she screamed for help as loudly as she could.

“People just watched,” she wrote.

Police eventually came, but drew their guns and ordered her back on the ground. At that point, two other photojournalists vouched for her, she said.

Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, a photojournalist on assignment for The Washington Post, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that she had three different people threaten to shoot her on Wednesday. One man told her, “I'm coming back with a gun tomorrow and I'm coming for you,” she said.

“Journalists covering a democratic transition of power in Washington shouldn't have to run for cover,” said Mark Lodato, dean of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications. “We've hit bottom.”

WASHINGTON —

In a city still on edge after the Jan. 6 insurrection, law enforcement bore down in large numbers on the Capitol on Saturday over concerns that a rally in support of the jailed rioters would turn violent. It didn’t.

The crowd was sparse and incidents were few. The only clear parallels to the riots more than eight months ago by supporters of Donald Trump were the false claims put forth by the rally organizers about the violence that January day when Congress met to certify the election of Joe Biden.

Video above: Heavy security at Capitol riot supporters' rally

The low turnout also called into question whether such rallies will have any staying power as the organizers attempt to tap into the rage of Jan. 6 without the presence of the former president.

Law enforcement had prepared for a confrontation by erecting temporary fencing around the Capitol and deploying heavy dump trucks to ring the rally site. Local police departments and the U.S. National Guard were on standby.

The security might have been unnecessary in the end, but the volatility around the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and the presence of extremists and white nationalist groups on Jan. 6 have made it impossible to predict how such events will go.

U.S. Capitol Police said they received intelligence information leading up to the weekend that was similar to what was missed in January when law enforcement was only expecting a free speech protest and Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol.

Republican lawmakers, including those who had voted that day to challenge Biden’s election, avoided Saturday’s rally. Rally organizer Matt Braynard took elected officials to task for not backing up those now in jail and introduced candidates who are running for elected office.

Counterprotesters stood by and jeered. Some held anti-Trump signs and one man who had confronted some of the pro-Trump protesters was quickly removed by police, who used bicycles to shield him from the crowd as they escorted him down the street.

One person was arrested in the crowd for carrying a knife and a second man was arrested after someone reported to officers that they saw him carrying what appeared to be a handgun, police said. Two other people who police say were wanted in Texas – for a firearms charge and probation violation – were also arrested after being pulled over near the Capitol Saturday morning.

Braynard, a former Trump campaign staffer, opened in calm and deliberate tones. He said the event was for the defendants held behind bars.

On Jan.6, dozens of law enforcement officers were left bloodied and beaten as the crowd of pro-Trump rioters, some armed with pipes, bats and bear spray, charged into the Capitol, quickly overrunning the overwhelmed police force. One officer was beaten and shocked with a stun gun repeatedly until he had a heart attack; another was foaming at the mouth and screaming for help as rioters crushed him between two doors and bashed him in the head with his own weapon.

The Associated Press reviewed hundreds of court and jail records for the Capitol riot defendants to uncover how many were being detained and found roughly 63 held in federal custody awaiting trial or sentencing hearings.

At least 30 are jailed in Washington. The rest are locked up in facilities across the country. They have said they are being treated unfairly, and one defendant said he was beaten.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has set standards for judges to apply in deciding whether to jail a Capitol riot defendant. A three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in March that rioters accused of assaulting officers, breaking through windows, doors and barricades, or playing leadership roles in the attack were in “a different category of dangerousness” than those who merely cheered on the violence or entered the building after it was breached.

Among the rally speakers was the girlfriend of Jonathan Mellis, who was seen on camera on Jan. 6 using a stick to attack officers who were outside the Capitol trying to hold back the mob, authorities said.

Mellis was heard saying “knock their masks off,” and video shows him repeatedly striking and stabbing at officers with the stick, according to court documents. Authorities said in court documents that he appeared to be trying to hit the officers’ necks between their helmets and body armor, where they had no protection.

Other defendants ordered locked up while they await trial include a man accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag and another man accused of leading a group of rioters up the Capitol steps to confront officers.

But judges have released the vast majority of the defendants, including more than a dozen members and associates of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group, who are charged in perhaps the most serious case brought so far in the attack. Only three people charged in the Oath Keepers conspiracy case remain locked up after judges said they appeared to play a leadership role in the alleged conspiracy.

Authorities have said the Oath Keepers prepared in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 as if they were heading to war, came to Washington ready for violence and dressed that day in battle gear, wearing helmets and tactical vests.

___

Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman, Mary Clare Jalonick, Jacques Billeaud, Lisa Mascaro, Amanda Seitz, Ashraf Khalil and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump's fiery speech at a rally just before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol is at the center of the impeachment charge against him, even as the falsehoods he spread for months about election fraud are still being championed by some Republicans.

A Capitol police officer died from injuries suffered in the riot, and police shot and killed a woman during the siege. Three other people died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.

Follow along below for updates: (all times eastern)

9 a.m.

The House has opened its proceedings Wednesday, poised to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time exactly a week after his supporters stormed the Capitol to protest his election defeat.

At least five Republicans have said they will join Democrats in voting to remove Trump from office. The article of impeachment charges the president with “incitement of insurrection.”

The House chaplain opened the session with a prayer for “seizing the scales of justice from the jaws of mob-ocracy.”

A vote is expected by the end of the day.

---

8:15 a.m.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is predicting more Republicans will join him in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.

The House is set to vote Wednesday afternoon on impeaching Trump for a second time, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol last week. If that isn't an impeachable offense, Kinzinger said, “I don't know what is.”

Several other Republicans are backing impeachment, including No. 3 GOP leader Liz Cheney.

“This is one of these moments that transcends politics,” the Illinois lawmaker told “CBS This Morning” in an interview ahead of the vote.

Besides Kinzinger and Cheney, other Republicans backing impeachment are John Katko of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington.

Kinzinger wouldn’t say how many more GOP lawmakers might vote to impeach, but said, “there’ll be more than the five you’ve seen so far.”

---

CINCINNATI —

A former U.S. attorney talked with WLWT about the riot at the U.S. Capitol exactly one week ago, and the process of identifying and prosecuting those who took part.

Former U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman described the investigation into the Capitol riot as a monumental undertaking.

He said the event was domestic terrorism and it is something the nation needs to confront now.

"This is not a new threat. This is a threat that has existed for quite a few years but has clearly been growing over the last several years and now appears to have hit a crescendo," Glassman said.

He spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor and four years as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

Glassman also investigated and prosecuted domestic terrorism.

He called last week's riot just that.

"I was beyond shocked. I was outraged," he said.

Dozens have been charged and the FBI continues to scour a wealth of photos, videos and social media evidence.

The agency has opened 170 case files and gotten more than 100,000 pieces of digital media since last week.

"I've seen many cases in my own experience where a cell phone video that someone took at the time of the crime was the difference between a successful prosecution and no prosecution at all," Glassman said.

He said when investigating a case this serious, it is important to make sure it is complete so that all of the participants in any sort of criminal activity are known.

"Conspiracies are often investigated and then prosecuted by finding out the full scope of who's in the conspiracy and often charging or at least bringing to awareness of charges those people at the lower levels of the conspiracy first," Glassman said.

He said those who carry out commands might decide to cooperate with law enforcement once they see what they've done is wrong and consider potential consequences.

New tips about potential threats are pouring into law enforcement agencies leading to tighter security at statehouses and in Washington, D.C., ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

Glassman said peaceful protests are protected by the First Amendment, but if you are concerned about something you see or hear, tell law enforcement.

"The First Amendment does not give anyone the license to engage in violent conduct, to destroy property, to try to influence or coerce or intimidate the government. Those are all crimes. They're very serious crimes," Glassman said.

There are concerns that some are "going dark" or switching to encrypted messaging systems.

Compared to social media, Glassman said that makes it much tougher for law enforcement to identify future threats.

"There really can be, in my opinion, no higher priority for federal law enforcement than to identify and then, shut down this threat," he said.

Glassman said over the years, there have not been many prosecutions for seditious conspiracy or for interstate travel to participate in a riot, but he thinks those will be important tools for federal agents and prosecutors as they move forward in these cases.