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    Trump's Speech Helped Set Violence at the Capitol in Motion

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    Georgia Runoff Updates

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    Disturbios y violencia en el Capitolio: el fin de la era Trump

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential TransitionliveWatch With AnalysisCertification UpdatesFact Check: Congressional DebateUpdates on UnrestAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWashingtonDisturbios y violencia en el Capitolio: el fin de la era TrumpLuego de que el presidente Donald Trump hizo un llamado a sus seguidores para que no aceptaran su derrota electoral, los partidarios enojados irrumpieron en el Capitolio, suspendiendo la validación de las elecciones por parte del Congreso y protagonizando el violento final de su presidencia. Simpatizantes del presidente Trump frente al Monumento a Washington.Credit…Jason Andrew para The New York Times6 de enero de 2021Actualizado 20:36 ETRead in EnglishWASHINGTON — Durante años, los críticos del presidente Donald Trump que hicieron advertencias sobre los peores escenarios fueron tachados de alarmistas. Pero parece que la peor situación se materializó el miércoles cuando los partidarios del mandatario irrumpieron en el Capitolio de Estados Unidos, suspendiendo el proceso de validación de su derrota electoral y obligando a la evacuación del vicepresidente Mike Pence y los miembros del Congreso.En medio de una escena inolvidable, que evocó a los golpes de Estado y levantamientos en países autoritarios de todo el mundo, una turba atravesó las barricadas de seguridad, rompió las ventanas y entró en tropel al Capitolio. Mientras los legisladores huían, los agentes de la policía lanzaron gases lacrimógenos dentro de la ciudadela de la democracia estadounidense y sacaron armas para proteger la Cámara de Representantes en un enfrentamiento violento. Los alborotadores llegaron al estrado del Senado, donde poco antes estuvo el vicepresidente, y a la oficina de la presidenta Nancy Pelosi, donde uno se sentó en su escritorio.La inusitada invasión del Capitolio se produjo poco después de que Trump incitó a sus admiradores, en un mitin, a marchar a la sede del Congreso para protestar por la validación de los resultados de las elecciones que perdió, sugiriendo incluso que se uniría a ellos, aunque no lo hizo. Aunque no los instó de manera explícita a entrar por la fuerza en el edificio, les dijo que le estaban robando la presidencia y que nadie debería tolerar eso, lo que enardeció a la concurrencia provocando el estallido de violencia que poco después sucedería en el otro extremo de la avenida Pensilvania.Solo después de que la situación empeoró, Trump finalmente hizo un llamado a la calma. “Pido a todas las personas que están en el Capitolio de Estados Unidos que sean pacíficas”, escribió en Twitter. “¡Sin violencia! Recuerden, NOSOTROS somos el Partido de la Ley y el Orden: respeten la Ley y a nuestros grandes hombres y mujeres de azul. ¡Gracias!”.Pero, inicialmente, no les dijo que abandonaran el Capitolio o que permitieran que se reanudaran los procedimientos, al punto que incluso los propios asesores de Trump le imploraron que se pronunciara. “Condene esto ahora, @realDonaldTrump”, escribió en Twitter Alyssa Farah, quien acaba de renunciar como su directora de comunicaciones. “Eres el único al que escucharán. ¡Por nuestro país!”.Mick Mulvaney, quien se desempeñó como jefe de gabinete de Trump en la Casa Blanca, y luego se convirtió en un enviado especial, hizo un llamado similar. “El tuit del presidente no es suficiente”, escribió. “Él puede detener esto ahora y debe hacer exactamente eso. Dígale a esta gente que se vaya a casa”.Momentos después de que el presidente electo Joseph Biden apareció en televisión en vivo para deplorar la “sedición” en el Capitolio y pedirle a Trump que se presentara ante las cámaras, el presidente lanzó un video grabado en línea que ofrecía mensajes contradictorios. Reiteró sus quejas contra las personas que eran “tan malas y tan malvadas”, incluso cuando les dijo a sus seguidores que era hora de retirarse, sin condenar sus acciones.“Sé que están heridos”, les dijo. “Nos robaron una elección. Fue una elección arrolladora y todos lo saben, especialmente los del otro lado. Pero hay que irse a casa ahora”. Y añadió: “Los amamos. Son muy especiales”.Los críticos del mandatario lo responsabilizaron por alentar la respuesta violenta, al decirles repetidamente a los estadounidenses que le habían robado las elecciones cuando no fue así. “Esto es lo que el presidente ha causado hoy, esta insurrección”, dijo Mitt Romney, senador republicano por Utah, a un periodista cuando lo trasladaban junto con otros legisladores a un lugar seguro que las autoridades pidieron que no se revelara.Los partidarios de Trump irrumpieron por un extremo del Capitolio, luego de un mitin donde habló el presidente.Credit…Jason Andrew para The New York TimesAdam Kinzinger, representante republicano por Illinois y otro gran crítico del presidente, fue aún más lejos, y acusó a los simpatizantes de Trump de buscar el derrocamiento violento del gobierno. “Esto es un intento de golpe”, escribió en Twitter.The Presidential TransitionLatest UpdatesUpdated 6 de enero de 2021 a las 22:17 ETHe looted Speaker Pelosi’s office, but says he paid for his trophy.Video: Protesters linger as law enforcement surrounds the Capitol building.Congress resumes vote-counting as leaders on both sides repudiate siege.Los aliados republicanos del presidente, que tratan de obstaculizar el conteo de los electores de Biden con la esperanza de ayudar a Trump en su intento por aferrarse al poder, denunciaron la violencia sin flaquear en sus esfuerzos.“La violencia debe terminar, los que atacaron a la policía y violaron la ley deben ser procesados, y el Congreso debe volver al trabajo y terminar su tarea”, dijo Josh Hawley, senador republicano por Misuri y líder del esfuerzo de bloqueo de las elecciones, en una declaración.Aunque Washington ha sido el escenario de muchas protestas a lo largo de los años, incluidas algunas que se volvieron violentas, la convulsión del miércoles no se parecía a nada que haya visto la capital durante una transición de poder en los tiempos modernos, llegando a interrumpir literalmente la aceptación constitucional de la victoria electoral de Biden. Una presidencia que ha provocado hostilidad y divisiones durante cuatro años parece que termina con una explosión de ira, desorden y violencia.“Nunca nos rendiremos”, declaró Trump en su “Marcha para salvar América”, en el parque Elipse, poco antes del levantamiento, durante su último esfuerzo para justificar su intento fallido de revertir las elecciones democráticas con falsas afirmaciones de fraude que han sido desacreditadas por las votaciones, los jueces e incluso su propio fiscal general. “Nunca cederemos. Eso no pasará. No se concede cuando se trata de un robo. Nuestro país ya ha tenido suficiente. No lo soportaremos más, y de eso se trata todo esto”.Mientras la multitud en el Elipse coreaba: “¡Lucha por Trump! ¡Lucha por Trump!”, el presidente arremetió contra los miembros de su propio partido por no hacer más para ayudarlo a aferrarse al poder por encima de la voluntad del pueblo. “Hay tantos republicanos débiles”, se quejó, y luego juró vengarse de quienes considera que no han sido suficientemente leales. “Serán los primeros”, dijo.Se refirió a Brian Kemp, gobernador republicano de Georgia, que lo enfureció al no intervenir en las elecciones, llamándolo “uno de los gobernadores más tontos de Estados Unidos”. Y también atacó a William Barr, el fiscal general que no quiso validar sus quejas electorales. “De repente, Bill Barr cambió”, se quejó.Otros oradores, incluidos sus hijos Donald Trump Jr. y Eric Trump, criticaron a los legisladores republicanos por no defender al mandatario. “Esta reunión debería enviarles un mensaje a las personas que no hicieron nada para detener el robo”, dijo Donald Trump Jr. “Este ya no es su Partido Republicano. Este es el Partido Republicano de Donald Trump”.“Nunca nos rendiremos”, dijo Trump en el mitin del 6 de enero de 2021.Credit…Pete Marovich para The New York TimesPara muchos republicanos, ese es el problema. Incluso cuando la presidencia de Trump se estaba perdiendo, los republicanos se tornaron cada vez más en su contra, enfurecidos por las elecciones de segunda vuelta del martes en Georgia que parecían favorecer a los demócratas y los votos que obligaban a los legisladores a declararse a favor o en contra de los resultados de una elección democrática.Incluso Pence y Mitch McConnell, senador republicano por Kentucky y actual líder de la mayoría del Senado, quienes han sido algunos de los partidarios más leales de Trump durante los últimos cuatro años, finalmente rompieron con él de manera decisiva. Pence rechazó la petición del mandatario de que use su papel como director del recuento del Colegio Electoral para rechazar a los electores de Biden. Y McConnell pronunció un enérgico discurso en el que repudió el esfuerzo de Trump por revertir las elecciones.“Si estas elecciones fueran anuladas simplemente por las acusaciones del bando perdedor, nuestra democracia entraría en una espiral de muerte”, dijo McConnell en un discurso antes de que los alborotadores invadieran el Capitolio.Pence rechazó al presidente, minutos después de que lo presionara públicamente para que hiciera lo que incluso Jay Sekulow, abogado del mandatario, dijo que el vicepresidente no podía hacer: rechazar a los electores de los estados indecisos que perdieron los republicanos.“Espero que Mike haga lo correcto”, dijo Trump en el mitin del Elipse. “Yo espero que sí. Eso espero porque si Mike Pence hace lo correcto, ganaremos las elecciones”.Minutos después, Pence divulgó una carta en la que decía que no tenía el poder para hacer lo que el presidente quería. “Conferir al vicepresidente una autoridad unilateral para decidir las contiendas presidenciales sería completamente antitético” al diseño constitucional, escribió.Y agregó: “Creo que mi juramento de apoyar y defender la Constitución me limita al momento de reclamar una autoridad unilateral para determinar qué votos electorales deben contarse y cuáles no”.Como Pence no quería ni podía detener el conteo, los partidarios del presidente decidieron hacerlo ellos mismos. Y, durante varias horas, lo lograron.Peter Baker es el corresponsal principal de la Casa Blanca y ha cubierto las gestiones de los últimos cuatro presidentes para el Times y The Washington Post. También es autor de seis libros, el más reciente de ellos se titula The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III. @peterbakernyt • FacebookAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Trump Is to Blame for Capitol Attack

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyTrump Is to Blame for Capitol AttackThe president incited his followers to violence. There must be consequences.The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.Jan. 6, 2021, 8:01 p.m. ETCredit…Samuel Corum/Getty ImagesPresident Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress incited a violent attack Wednesday against the government they lead and the nation they profess to love. This cannot be allowed to stand.Mr. Trump’s seditious rhetoric prompted a mob of thousands of people to storm the U.S. Capitol building, some breaking onto the House and Senate floors, where the nation’s elected representatives had gathered to perform their constitutional duty of counting electoral votes and confirming the election of Joe Biden as president.It is fitting that some carried the Confederate flag as they attacked the seat of American government and forced the suspension of congressional debate. They shattered windows and broke doors, clashing with overwhelmed security forces as they shouted their support for Mr. Trump and their defiance of the lawful results of the 2020 election. One woman was killed. The nation’s leaders were sent scurrying for shelter.Explosives were found in the Capitol and multiple locations around Washington. Pro-Trump protests also shut down statehouses around the country.Mr. Trump sparked these assaults. He has railed for months against the verdict rendered by voters in November. He summoned his supporters to gather in Washington on this day, and encouraged them to march on the Capitol. He told them that the election was being stolen. He told them to fight. He told them he might join them and, even as they stormed the building, he declined for long hours to tell them to stop, to condemn their actions, to raise a finger in defense of the Constitution that he swore to preserve and protect. When he finally spoke, late in the day, he affirmed the protesters’ anger, telling them again that the election was stolen, but asking them to go home anyway. It was the performance of a man unwilling to fulfill his duties as president or to confront the consequences of his own behavior.The president needs to be held accountable — through impeachment proceedings or criminal prosecution — and the same goes for his supporters who carried out the violence. In time, there should be an investigation of the failure of the Capitol Police to prepare for an attack that was announced and planned in public.This is not just an attack on the results of the 2020 election. It is a precedent — a permission slip for similar opposition to the outcomes of future elections. It must be clearly rejected, and placed beyond the pale of permissible conduct.The leaders of the Republican Party also bear a measure of responsibility for the attack on the Capitol.Many in the G.O.P. have participated in the vigorous retailing of lies about the election. They have sought to undermine public confidence in democracy, questioning the legitimacy of Mr. Biden’s victory without providing any evidence for their claims. Their statements led some of those who trust them to conclude violence was necessary.Few have been as explicit as Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, who earlier Wednesday suggested, “Let’s have trial by combat!” But even as extremists boiled up around the Capitol, lapping against the security barriers, Republicans in the House and the Senate were chipping away at democracy from the inside.Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, invoked the 1877 commission that resolved the disputed presidential election of 1876 as a model for what he described as addressing reasonable doubts about the 2020 election. There is no factual basis for such doubts about the 2020 vote, but Mr. Cruz’s choice of analogy is historically resonant. In the 1876 election, white Democrats used widespread political violence to prevent Black people from voting and then demanded the end of Reconstruction as the price of the survival of a compromised Republic — ushering in an era of racial terror and cementing the exclusion of Southern Blacks from participatory democracy.The modern Republican Party, in its systematic efforts to suppress voting, and its refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of elections that it loses, is similarly seeking to maintain its political power on the basis of disenfranchisement. Wednesday’s insurrection is evidence of an alarming willingness to pursue that goal with violence.It is clear that some Republican leaders are starting to fear the consequences of enabling Mr. Trump. Before the attack started, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, decried efforts by his fellow Republicans to overturn the results of the election. But his eloquence was the very definition of a gesture both too little and too late. They who sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.Other politicians have had firmer convictions. Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney tweeted, “What happened at the U.S. Capitol today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States.”The Constitution requires Congress to count and announce the results of a presidential election on Jan. 6 of the following year. While the mob was able to put that process on hold, it will not be able to prevent it, or Mr. Biden’s inauguration in two weeks.But the attack is a reminder of the fragility of self-government.Jan. 6, 2021, will go down as a dark day. The question is whether, even as Mr. Trump’s time in office ends, America is at the beginning of a descent into an even darker and more divided epoch or the end of one. The danger is real, but the answer is not foreordained. Republican politicians have the power, and the responsibility, to chart a different course by ending their rhetorical assaults on American democracy and rising in defense of the nation they swore oaths to serve.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    China Exerts a Heavier Hand in Hong Kong With Mass Arrests

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storynews analysisWith Mass Arrests, Beijing Exerts an Increasingly Heavy Hand in Hong KongThe central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, has signaled its determination to openly impose its will on the city.Police officers escorting Andrew Wan, a pro-democracy politician who recently resigned from Hong Kong’s legislature, after his arrest along with more than 50 others on Wednesday.Credit…Lam Yik Fei for The New York TimesVivian Wang, Austin Ramzy and Jan. 6, 2021Updated 9:54 a.m. ETHONG KONG — They descended before dawn, 1,000 police officers fanning out across Hong Kong to the homes and offices of opposition lawmakers, activists and lawyers. They whisked many off in police cars, often without telling relatives or friends where they were being taken.Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Hong Kong police had arrested 53 people, searched 76 places and frozen $200,000 of assets in connection with an informal primary for the pro-democracy camp — all under the auspices of Beijing’s new national security law. In one swoop, the authorities rounded up not only some of the most aggressive critics of the Hong Kong government but also little-known figures who had campaigned on far less political issues, in one of the most forceful shows of power in the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing crackdown on the city.The message was clear: Beijing is in charge.The mass arrests signaled that the central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, is increasingly determined to openly impose its will on the city. In the months since the law took effect, Beijing and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong leadership have moved quickly to stamp out even the smallest hint of opposition in the Chinese territory, where the streets once surged with huge pro-democracy protests.The security law, which was enacted in June, has been the most visible tool of the crackdown. With the seeming blessing of Beijing, the Hong Kong authorities have been given the power to interpret the law as they see fit, taking advantage of vague parameters that criminalize anything the government considers to be acts of terrorism, secession, subversion or collusion with foreign powers.The informal primary last July, for example, had little political import, since the Hong Kong government ultimately postponed the election. Even so, it provoked a coordinated show of official force on Wednesday that more than doubled the number of people ensnared under the law. And Hong Kong rounded them up while its most vocal critics, the United States and Britain, were distracted by their own political and health crises.Campaign flags during an informal primary election in July for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislative candidates.Credit…Isaac Lawrence/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images“The difference of the national security law from every other piece of legislation is that the national security law will not wait until the worst has happened,” said Ronny Tong, a member of the cabinet that advises Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive. “Every single piece of national security law is aimed at preventing the occurrence of the worst.”The Hong Kong government itself was more direct. In a statement Wednesday evening, the government said it would “take resolute enforcement action to achieve a deterrent effect.”In a matter of months, Beijing has also upended the rules that have governed Hong Kong since the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997. The Chinese government bypassed Hong Kong courts in November and issued its own decision to order the removal of four opposition lawmakers. By doing so, it circumvented Hong Kong’s local constitution, which limits the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, to making amendments or interpretations, legal scholars said.The move all but obliterated the pro-democracy bloc of the city’s legislature. After the ouster, the 15 remaining opposition lawmakers resigned in protest, leaving an entirely Beijing-friendly group of lawmakers.Beijing is reaching into nearly every sector of society. In recent months, the Hong Kong government has ordered civil servants to take oaths of office that emphasize the city is a part of China. Pro-Beijing politicians have called for reforms to the city’s independent judiciary, raising fears that it could become like the party-controlled courts in the mainland. Officials have also promised to redesign school curriculums to ensure that students are being taught “patriotism” and a sense of Chinese national identity.People lining up to vote in the primary. More than 600,000 Hong Kongers participated.Credit…Vincent Yu/Associated PressFor many democracy supporters, the question is not whether Beijing will assert itself again, but when.“We cannot fantasize that, as long as we listen to the Chinese Communist Party, as long as we stop protesting in the streets, the party will let go of us,” said Li Chi-wang, a district councilor.Many worry that Beijing will move next against the district councilors, a hyperlocal elected position, after the opposition’s landslide victory in 2019. Any mass disqualifications could leave the pro-democracy camp without a single foothold in elected office in Hong Kong.The government has already announced plans to reform a mandatory high school civics course, known as liberal studies, that pro-Beijing figures have accused of radicalizing Hong Kong’s youth. University professors have described a chill on their campuses, as administrators try to prevent any national security violations. The legal scholar Benny Tai, who was arrested on Wednesday, was fired by the University of Hong Kong last year in relation to antigovernment protests in 2014.Of special concern is the judiciary, considered one of the few remaining bulwarks against Beijing’s influence. In recent months, pro-Beijing newspapers have issued front-page denunciations of judges deemed overly lenient on protesters. A Chinese legal scholar called for the trial of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy media tycoon who was arrested in August on national security charges, to be transferred to the mainland.Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon, at his Hong Kong home in August, days after his arrest on national security charges.Credit…Lam Yik Fei for The New York TimesThe primary election, which drew more than 600,000 voters, was another red line. Hong Kong officials had said that holding the election could amount to subversion, citing opposition figures’ statements that, if elected, they would seek to use a majority in the legislature to block government proposals.In particular, many candidates had said that they would seek to utilize a provision in Hong Kong law that forces the city’s chief executive to step down if legislators veto a proposed budget twice.Establishment leaders suggested the opposition was foolish to challenge Beijing by seeking to paralyze the government.“Last July both the central government and the Hong Kong government had warned these people,” said Lau Siu-kai, a former Hong Kong government official who is now a senior adviser to Beijing.Still, many critics of the government were left reeling by the arrests, not only because of their scale, but also because — as many pointed out — the supposed offense was authorized in Hong Kong’s own law.Legislators are “granted the right to disapprove budgets introduced by the government,” Civil Human Rights Front, a pro-democracy group, said. “Through the primary election, the candidates only exercised their rights to debate their political stance, and the electors had the freedom to elect those who are in their favor.”But Mr. Tong, the cabinet member, said that those rights could not infringe on national security. “On the face of it,” he said, it is the right of lawmakers to veto legislation, “but if you think more about it, it is not.”The willful vetoing of proposals without really considering them would amount to a breach of lawmakers’ duties, he added.Officials have indicated that their work is far from finished. A senior police superintendent told reporters on Wednesday that officers might make more arrests in connection with the primary election. The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, Beijing’s official arm in Hong Kong, called for vigorous enforcement of the law.“Only when Hong Kong’s national security law is fully and accurately implemented, and firmly and strictly enforced, can national security, Hong Kong’s social stability and public peace be effectively guaranteed,” the office said in a statement.Perhaps the clearest sign of Beijing’s desire to flex its power was in whom the authorities chose to arrest.Until Wednesday, those arrested under the national security law had largely been prominent activists, or people openly demonstrating against the government, such as a man who collided into police officers on a motorcycle while at a rally, or students who the police said had shouted pro-independence slogans.But the latest arrests showed that the authorities were willing to punish any participation in pro-democracy activities, however mild or low profile.Jeffrey Andrews, a social worker of Indian descent who was born and raised in Hong Kong, was known more for his work helping members of ethnic minority groups than for fiery slogans. Mr. Andrews ran in the primary and finished last in his race.Lee Chi-yung also placed last in his region. While his opponents in the primary had emphasized their antigovernment bona fides, Mr. Lee’s campaign was devoted to a different issue: promoting accessibility in Hong Kong, in memory of his late daughter, who had used a wheelchair all her life.“When Hong Kongers tried to express their views, whether through district council elections or primaries, the government chose not to listen,” Lo Kin-hei, the chairman of the Democratic Party, said in a news conference. “Instead, they took revenge.”“If even a primary election can be twisted into something that can endanger national security, then this country’s national security is very fragile indeed,” he added.A billboard promoting China’s national security law in Hong Kong in June.Credit…Lam Yik Fei for The New York TimesAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Electoral College Results

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    As Trump Rails Against Loss, His Supporters Become More Threatening

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