WASHINGTON — Angry pro-Trump mobs met news outlets covering the riot Wednesday about an hour before the six o'clock curfew. The mob rushed the metal barricades surrounding the media pen and knocked them down.
They threw water, empty bottles, and other items at news crews. Once the crowd made its way in over the metal barricades, they started to smash news cameras, lights, and other equipment, driving news members away.
Inside the Capitol, "Murder the media" was scratched into a door.
About an hour before, the mob tried to push their way into the Capitol on the Senate-side entrance, which was met with tear gas, smoke grenades, and flashbangs. Rioters were seen throwing traffic cones and batons at windows in the area.
The chaos started on Capitol grounds about an hour after President Trump's speech started at the Ellipse.
"We have to fight harder, and Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us," Trump said.
The mood shifted quickly from a relatively peaceful protest at the Ellipse to a destructive scene at the Capitol. Nearing curfew, rioters said they felt the Capitol's damage was necessary to "make a statement" and "force change" in the election.
Nancy Barlow, a President Trump supporter from Florida, said she expected some chaos, but added that the situation went too far.
"You know, we just hope everyone is good," Barlow said. "We don't know what's happening now. We left as soon as everything was shut down."
Dozens of law enforcement officers marched toward the Capitol post-curfew to get the situation under control.