Embarrassing. Appalling. Disgusting. Seditious. Choose your adjective to describe the horrendous, suffocating, sick, sad, and pathetic stench of Trumpism that blanketed and breached America’s Capitol building today. My word? Inevitable. We’ve been seeing authoritarianism in the White House for years. And now, we’re seeing it in the streets. At the behest of a mad president enabled by callous, power-hungry, anti-American seditionists, heavily armed, fantasy-minded insurgents stormed and entered the Capitol building. In America. As they did so, causing some of the key players in the line of succession to be whisked from the chamber and locked in secure locations, the protesters’ monstrous idol continued to egg them on. The Senate had to be evacuated. Tear gas had to be used inside the Capitol. Members and staff were holding gas masks. A protester made it all the way the dais in the chamber and started yelling, “Trump won the election.” At least one person has been shot. A 6pm curfew was ordered in DC. All of this in defense against an insurgency led by THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The whole world is watching what Trump and his enablers have done to American democracy. That includes our allies and enemies alike. And much of the world is probably asking, “Well, who’s the shithole now?” This is a sad day. It’s also a day any sane person could see coming. Everyone who downplayed the risk of Trumpism was dead wrong. Most of those who issued warnings understated the risk, but were still waved off as being hysterical, liberal snowflakes. (I’m sure, as per usual, this White Supremacy symbol Trump flashed during his pre-insurgency speech was just an an accident.) Trump not only instigated this, he failed to call on those who breached the Capitol to leave. Treachery. Even with two weeks to go, Trump must be impeached and removed from office. If he isn’t held to account for this behavior, then what’s the point of having laws? (Preferably, this would happen before he pardons Rudy, who, moments before the insurgency, called for trial by combat.) Here’s the latest from WaPo, NYT, AP, and The Guardian.

+ Joe Biden: “At this hour, our democracy’s under unprecedented assault. Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times. An assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself. An assault on the people’s representatives and the Capitol Hill police, sworn to protect them. And the public servants who work at the heart of our Republic… Let me be very clear. The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America. Do not represent who we are. What we’re seeing are a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end now … “The work of the moment and the work of the next four years must be the restoration of democracy – of decency, honor, respect, the rule of law. Just plain, simple decency.”

+ Here are some of the stunning videos and photos from the scene.

+ Buzzfeed: Rioting Trump Supporters Stage An Attempted Coup, Breaching The Capitol And Inciting An Armed Standoff.

+ A Dark Moment for America.

+ Hours into the riot, the national guard was being called in. But how could the Capitol Police and DC authorities not be prepared for this? How can the most powerful nation on Earth be this vulnerable? There will be a big story around this. When black and brown people protest peacefully, the Capitol looks like a defended fortress. But when armed MAGA lunatics show up, they make it all the way to the dais.