Supporters of outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the heart of America's democracy on Wednesday to protest his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden. For Filipinos, there was a familiar sight -- a protester wielding a walis tambo (broom).
Trump has made unfounded claims that he was cheated out of victory in the November 2020 election and the Wednesday mob at the U.S. Capitol came after he mounted a rally to overturn the vote.
The U.S. Senate and House was on the same day scheduled to make Biden's victory official, making Trump a one-term president, which is rare for America.
It was unclear if the protester with the walis is a Filipino. The broom's handle bore an improvised Captain America shield. Grafitti on the shield equated the word "coup" with "pandemic hoax, false media, extremist groups and mail-in fraud" -- echoing Trump's positions.
The protester also wore an American flag cape and another inverted American flag as face covering.
One Trump supporter in jeans and a baseball cap was pictured propping a leg up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, where a threatening note had been left, as throngs of others climbed onto risers set up for Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, holding a banner that read: "We the people will bring DC to its knees/We have the power."
Biden called the violence an "insurrection" and demanded that Trump immediately go on national television to urge his supporters to lift the siege of the Capitol.
"Our democracy's under unprecedented assault," Biden said in his home state of Delaware.
"The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America," he added.
"This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end now."
Trump soon afterward released a video on Twitter in which he called on his supporters to leave but stood by his unfounded claims of election fraud.
"We have to have peace. So go home. We love you -- you're very special," he said.
Here are more photos from the U.S. Capitol:
