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Wednesday will go down as one of the darkest days in American history.

It was all egged on by a sitting president, who has been unable to accept losing his bid for reelection and who persuaded millions of his followers to buy into baseless, debunked and disproved conspiracy theories.

The result: A mob violently storming and occupying the U.S. Capitol for hours, while staffers and lawmakers were evacuated or hid in fear. The sitting U.S. vice president was also rushed from the floor of the Senate and taken to a secure location after criticisms were tweeted from his boss.

Here's a timeline of how things unfolded:

A joint session of Congress begins to tally the Electoral College votes, with Vice President Pence presiding. As it begins, Pence 

 declaring that he does not have unilateral authority to overturn the election results.

 on the Ellipse outside the White House ends. During the roughly hourlong speech, Trump urges his followers to march to the Capitol and says at one point, "You will never take back our country with weakness." Trump

 to state Electoral College certification, from his home state. Democrat Joe Biden 

. The objection needs to be joined by a U.S. senator, which it is. The objection could then be debated for up to two hours. Republican House members and senators threaten to do this for up to half a dozen states. The tactic amounts to not more than a delay, however, as the end result will be President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris 

 The mob of Trump supporters breach the steps on the east side of the Capitol.

 Trump tweets that Vice President "Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done." During Trump's speech earlier on the Ellipse, he also targeted Pence, saying, "We're going to have to fight much harder and Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us. If he doesn't, that will be a sad day for our country because you're sworn to uphold our Constitution."

 Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the senators 

 of accepting state certification, sends out a 

. He asks people to "stand with" him in his fight to "reject electors." An aide to Cruz then 

that the email was an automated message and that he was "dismayed" by what was happening. "He would not send this out," the aide said.

For the first time, Trump tells his supporters to be "peaceful." "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement," he tweets. "They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

. Eventually, it is confirmed that four people in total died related to the events.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., confirms reports of "shots fired" on Fox News and says he called the president, urging him to call for calm.

 "asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order... ."

 that the National Guard was on its way at Trump's direction. A Defense Department official later said the guard was authorized "days ago," but it turns out the guard had only been authorized to work with police at intersections and at Metro stations. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said

 from the guard as tensions rose, but the White House was late in responding.

. Metropolitan Police later confirm that they were found at the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic national committees and destroyed by law enforcement.

, calls what happened "an unprecedented assault" on democracy and labels it an "insurrection." "At their best," Biden said, "the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite." He urges Trump to "step up," go on national television and "end this siege." 

 of the last remaining Georgia Senate race, effectively giving control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats once Ossoff's win is certified and he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who will act as a tiebreaker, are sworn in.

 the events of day and sympathizing with his followers. "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long," he says. He then tells them to "Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"

Trump repeats his comments from his earlier video, this time in written tweet form. Twitter earlier disallowed replies, likes or retweets of the video and then did the same with the written tweet.

for 12 hours, calling for the deletion of three tweets — the video, follow-up tweet and the one criticizing Pence at 2:24 p.m. It 

 from the platform altogether if "future violations" occur. On Thursday, 

 that it was banning Trump "indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete."

 to the Capitol complete the opening and counting of electors.

 on Senate floor: "To those who wreaked havoc today: You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins, and this is still the people's house. As we reconvene, the world will again witness the resilience of our democracy."

 and notes, "They tried to disrupt our democracy. They failed." On the House floor, 

 to the certification of electors. She's one of multiple Republican senators who previously said they would object to accepting state certifications and but then 

 objection to Arizona's electors and accepts them, 

 to Pennsylvania's certification; it is sustained by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

 The Senate, skipping the allotted debate, rejects objection to Pennsylvania slate of electors, 92-7.

 House rejects objection to Pennsylvania certification, as well, 

: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. of the state of Delaware has received for President of the United States, 306 votes. Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 232 votes."

 Trump puts out a statement on Twitter via his social media manager, pledging an "

 about the election's accuracy, saying he will continue his "fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted."  

Politics and Government News

Domenico Montanaro

Author

A mob stormed the U.S. Capitol after President Donald Trump urged supporters to march to the building to oppose the election results. Roughly 14 hours later, Congress affirmed Joe Biden's victory. 

Timeline: How one of the darkest days in American history unfolded

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