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 and, minutes later, were inside the Capitol itself. From that time, the insurrectionists desecrated the Capitol including by, among other acts, ransacking and looting Member offices, stealing and destroying electronics, government property, and sensitive materials, and engaging in violence, which eventually resulted in at least five deaths. The following is a summary of these acts as recounted in criminal complaints, eyewitness experiences, and firsthand photographs and videos of the events.

To enter the Capitol, the insurrectionists overwhelmed Capitol Police, scaled walls, used makeshift ladders, shattered windows, and overran barricades. Although Capitol Police locked the gallery and floor doors and Members and staff barricaded themselves in offices, the mob stormed Member offices, vandalizing and smashing property, overturning furniture, and, in some cases, stealing electronics. The day after the attack, the Justice Department noted that the thefts “could have potential national security equities.” The full impact of hundreds of violent rioters with smartphones rampaging unsupervised in the Capitol, with direct access to electronics, computers, and networks, is not yet known.

Insurrectionists also severely damaged the building itself. They left bullet marks in the building walls, looted art, destroyed monuments, including a commemorative display honoring late congressman John Lewis, smeared their feces in several hallways, and fatally injured a Capitol Police officer. Several brandished the Confederate battle flag and extremist paraphernalia.

By approximately 2:45 PM, insurrectionists had breached the House and Senate floors and began posing for photographs, including on the dais where Vice President Mike Pence had been presiding just moments before. Other images showed rioters smoking marijuana in Capitol rooms. The insurrectionists had, among their gear and weaponry, bullet-proof vests, zip ties used for handcuffs, metal knuckles, sticks and poles, knives, and firearms; in total, at least six handguns