Controversial S#!T

President Trump's Twitter suspension is over, and his first tweet is a video message of unity, peace and a promise the Capitol insurrectionists will be brought to justice. What a difference 36 hours makes.

In the video, shot at the White House, the President says he was outraged by the "violence, lawlessness and mayhem" seen Wednesday. Trump claims he "immediately" deployed the National Guard once the attack started -- but there's plenty of proof that just wasn't the case.

The troops didn't arrive until several hours after Senators and Representatives were forced to flee in fear for their lives.

Trump is now saying his only goal in challenging the election results was to ensure the integrity of the vote and defend American democracy. Of course, his words to his assembled crowd of followers yesterday were far more incendiary.

Interestingly, today's message included a vow to punish those responsible for the attack -- whom he softly refers to as "intruders" -- but yesterday he said "we love you."

Trump also verbalized, for the first time, what was essentially a concession ... saying a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20 and his focus is on a smooth and orderly transition of power.

Finally, Trump wrapped it up, saying his single term as President was the honor of his lifetime, but added ... "our incredible journey is only just beginning."

The U.S. Capitol Police Dept. may have been able to thwart Wednesday's attempted coup if it had all hands on deck, but we've learned they had less than ONE-QUARTER of the force working ... despite multiple, clear warnings the protest could turn violent.

Capitol Police sources tell TMZ ... 500 officers were working Wednesday as President Trump revved up the huge crowd of his supporters upset over the election results -- giving them their marching orders with the Capitol as the final destination. Trump has been dog-whistling for weeks now, promising something big would happen on January 6.

With that backdrop, the Capitol Police are 2,200 strong, yet only 500 were on duty. The way it works in most police departments around the country ... when there's the possibility of social unrest it's all hands on deck. That did not happen here.

Our source says the police believed they had enough staff to contain any unrest ... by setting up barricades and locking up the 3 House office buildings -- the Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn Buildings. The sad fact ... they were grossly understaffed.

Even worse, we're told when the cops on duty were instructed to start deploying tear gas to clear the rioters ... they were not given masks or proper protective equipment. This resulted in many officers becoming debilitated themselves ... meaning even fewer police were at the ready to contain the insurrection.

We're told when it became obvious things were completely out of control, several Capitol Police officers who work the night crew made their way to the Hill to help out ... but by then, according to one Capitol Police source, it already felt like "Olympus Has Fallen."

Rep. Karen Bass of California -- who was in the Capitol Building at the time of the invasion -- is shocked and appalled at the security breach ... and not necessarily buying Capitol Police excuses.

She suggests -- like many others -- the insurrection was made possible by the lax treatment of Trump's supporters, and she believes if a similar situation arose with BLM protesters ... they would have dealt with it in a vastly different, more violent way.

White House Correspondent for TheGrio April Ryan has a slightly different take, but it still doesn't reflect kindly on the Capitol Police. She tells us they acted like keystone cops during the failed coup attempt, but feels it's par for the course.

She says the grotesque images will be long remembered around the country and the world, and there needs to be a drastic revamp of the Capitol Police Dept. to protect the building and its occupants from terrorists ... both domestic and foreign.

We were even told cops were not allowed to take time off from January 5-7 and a plan was being implemented to have a heavy police presence in the area -- both uniformed and in street clothes. It makes it even more puzzling why the full complement of cops wasn't there.

On the bright side -- the FBI is on the hunt for the rioters ... as Rep. Bass says they should be.

Rep. Karen Bass is outraged and saddened about the ordeal she and all of Congress endured -- and can't help thinking the Capitol attack would've been thwarted if rioters weren't Trump supporters.

The Congresswoman from California's 37th district joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to recount the terror of the moment lawmakers had to be evacuated ... a shocking event she calls ironic ... in a couple of ways.

First of all, Bass says she anticipated things getting dicey on the streets of D.C. ... but she told her family she'd be safe and sound inside the typically heavily guarded Capitol.

Secondly, she believes the protesters-turned-rioters were almost enabled by the authorities to do what they did. Rep. KB says it stands in stark contrast to what happened during last summer's Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Her implication is pretty clear, and it all comes back to President Trump ... who still has 13 days left in office. If you think Bass isn't concerned about that even though the riots are over ... think again.

As she points out ... it's not just his actions yesterday that are troubling, but his behavior on social media over the course of his presidency and his plethora of recent lamed duck hirings and firings

Just one day after his supporters rioted inside the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump went back to business. And by business, we mean golf.

POTUS awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 3 professional golfers on Thursday -- retired stars Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player, as well as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who died in 1956.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor ... which the White House describes as an award given to those "who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Player and Sorenstam were slated to receive the award back in March ... but the event was pushed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony is normally open to the press ... but not this time around.

Of course, that most likely has to do with the events that transpired in D.C. on Wednesday ... with hundreds of pro-Trump supporters invading the Capitol Building.

If you're questioning the decision to continue with the event -- given the country is still dealing with the aftermath of Wednesday's incident -- you're not alone.

Player's son, Marc, expressed his concerns with his dad accepting the award, tweeting, "I wish my father would simply & politely decline this 'award' at this time."

"Tone deaf. In denial. Wrong!!"

Britney Spears' ex-husband -- the one who isn't Kevin Federline -- had a front-row view to the attempted coup at the Capitol ... because he was part of the pro-Trump protest.

Jason Allen Alexander -- whom you might remember for being married to Britney for 55 hours after their wild, 2004 Sin City wedding -- trekked to D.C. for Wednesday's show of support for President Trump, which turned into an attempted coup.

Jason looked proud to be there ... snapping selfies in his Trump 45 beanie.

What's unclear ... if Jason actually was part of the riotous mob that breached the Capitol. If he was, it's likely the feds are going after him.

Seems Jason's big on attending demonstrations ... when we last saw him back in August, he had joined the #FreeBritney movement ... hanging out in the crowd gathered outside the L.A. courthouse where a hearing was taking place on her conservatorship.

The storming of the U.S. Capitol is especially infuriating to some local Washington D.C. residents -- 2 of whom gave the pro-Trump rioters a major piece of their minds.

A man standing out by his front door Wednesday in a neighborhood near the action shouted ... "Get the f*** outta town! F***ing treasonous pieces of s***!"

At some point during his rant, another local pulled up in her car, and joined in with full-throated support ... saying the rioters were destroying their city.

Their lively back-and-forth also got into what a lot of people believe -- if the rioters were part of the Black Lives Matter movement, President Trump would have sent tanks to stop them. Watch the video, because his language gets really colorful ... and she actually gets teary-eyed.

As we reported ... the FBI is on the hunt for the hundreds -- if not thousands -- of insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol and incited violence Wednesday after President Trump addressed them and vowed to never concede the election.

Donald Trump FINALLY acknowledged Joe Biden will become President in 13 days, but not without grumbling.

Trump issued a statement -- because he's been kicked off Twitter -- saying, "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th."

That would have been a nice place to end it, but Trump didn't. He went on ... "I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"

Fact is ... it's possible Trump won't make it to January 20, because some members of Congress want to trigger the 25th Amendment, which allows for removal if he's unable to carry out his duties. There are now lots of folks in Congress and reportedly even in the President's own cabinet, who believe he's shown he's unfit for office, and, they believe, being unfit makes him unable to carry out his duties.

Trump's concession comes hours after Congress put a bow on the Presidential election and ratified the vote of the electoral college, which will make Biden the 46th President.

As you know, earlier in the day Trump encouraged the protesters to march to the Capitol and stay strong. Not only did he incite them ... once they raided the Capitol he didn't condemn it. In fact, in the end, he told the insurrectionists he loved them.

Donald Trump may actually have less than 2 weeks left in office, at least if some members of Congress have their way, because they're apparently in a secret meeting right now to discuss how to remove him STAT.

There's a meeting going on right now at an undisclosed location in D.C. where a group of senators and members of Congress are talking about how to invoke the 25th Amendment to yank Trump from the White House ... this according to TheGrio's White House Correspondent and legend April Ryan.

In case you're unfamiliar ... the 25th Amendment -- a President can be removed if he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. It's a tough sell, because the Vice President and either a majority of the President's Cabinet or a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress have to be on board.

As you know ... Trump egged on the violent protesters by essentially telling them not to go quietly. They clearly got his message.

Pro-Trump protesters are breaking through layers of fencing guarding the U.S. Capitol Building ... where Congress is voting to certify the 2020 Election results -- and are coming to blows with cops guarding the entrance.

NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe says the violent scene at the nation's capital reminds him of a 3rd world country, not America ... and believes today's events could have a permanent effect on the nation.

"Where are the police?" Sharpe said on Twitter, Wednesday.

"Do we think an all black protest group could’ve stormed the Capitol and not 1 shot fired, no tear gas. Peaceful protestors got pepper sprayed so Trump could hold a Bible upside for a photo in front of church. Yet, I’m told everyone is treated equally in Flag of United States"

Of course, a large group of pro-Trump supporters flooded the U.S. Capitol building -- breaking down multiple barriers and fences -- and making their way to the Congressional Chamber.

Sharpe -- who has been very outspoken about the president in the past -- accused Donald Trump of trying to illegally seize power using violence.

"Pres Trump and his minions are trying a coup attempt. This is sedition. President Trump and a certain numbers of Republican Senators, Representatives have been heading dwn this path for 4 yrs and here we are. I need Black Lives Matter energy from law enforcement"

Sharpe believes there is hypocrisy in the handling of the protests ... claiming if the group was Black, law enforcement would be using stronger tactics.

"Where are the police? Do we think an all black protest group could’ve stormed the Capitol and not 1 shot fired, no tear gas. Peaceful protestors got pepper sprayed so Trump could hold a Bible upside for a photo in front of church. Yet, I’m told everyone is treated equally in Flag of United States"

Shannon isn't the only superstar athlete speaking out ... NBA legends Dwyane Wade and Reggie Miller have also commented on the chaos.

NFL star Dez Bryant also shared a message about the incident.

"I'm just wondering where the tasers and tear gas like they do black people when they are peacefully protesting? Just a thought not that I promote violence and chaos but black people could never come out of that alive"

"I'm hoping real changes can happen for the future of this country 'cause it's an ugly mess right now."

As for Trump, he just released a video asking his supporters to act peacefully, and to leave the Capitol.

Story developing ...

What many suspected as to why a throng of Trumpers infiltrated the U.S. Capitol Wednesday seems to finally be confirmed straight from one of the "revolutionaries" ... who had a hippy-dippy explanation while rubbing pepper spray outta her eyes.

A woman -- Elizabeth from Knoxville, TN -- did a quick on-camera interview Wednesday amid all the chaos in D.C. ... where lawmakers were thwarted by an invasion as they tried to certify Joe Biden's victory.

She explains she made it about a foot or so inside the building before being pushed out ... and then getting a heavy dose of mace to the dome, which forced her to retreat.

When asked why she was trying to get in -- Liz here tearfully gives it to the cameraman straight with a no-duh response ... "We're storming the Capitol, it's a revolution!" Her guy friend carries her off afterward.

It might seem like an obvious answer, but honestly ... hearing it just confirms how insane this whole thing is, and what sort of state of mind some of these folks are in.

Of course, the Capitol was put on a full lockdown and members of Congress were evacuated as protesters breached the doors and had their run of the place for a while ... including in different chambers of Congress as well as in offices of politicians, like Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The violence in D.C. has spread across the country to Los Angeles, and it's feeling like the beginnings of a civil war.

Trump protesters violently clashed with members of Black Lives Matter in downtown L.A. Wednesday. A number of people were arrested. A number were also injured, although the scene is so chaotic now it's hard to know how many.

The L.A. violence went down at the same time Trump supporters in D.C. were inside the Capitol staging an attempted coup.

A woman was shot in the melee and was in critical condition.

The Capitol is currently overrun by Trump demonstrators. They are everywhere. In the House and Senate chambers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office ... everywhere.

Trump has finally asked them to stop the violence. But, earlier in the day, when Trump addressed his supporters, he said, "After this, we're going to walk down there ... you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."

Trump had dog-whistled over the Xmas holidays something big was going to happen on January 6th. He tweeted, "Big protest in DC January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

If Jake Paul wants to run his mouth and call his older brother a "fake fighter" ... Logan has a simple solution -- "Let's box!!!"

Remember, Jake recently gave his thoughts to TMZ Sports about Logan's upcoming exhibition against Floyd Mayweather ... saying "It's bad for the sport. I think it's just for clout."

Logan is finally reacting to his lil' bro's comments ... and while he mostly takes the high road, he also makes it clear he'll put Jake in his place in the ring.

"I fully support Jake," Paul says. "Whatever drama he wants to stir or create, it really doesn’t bother me. Like, 'Oh, you’re a fake boxer.' Okay. Let’s box, because Jake is the kid that gets beat up by my sparring partners. That's that kid."

Logan admits Jake may have said the comments just to raise hell and get attention ... but either way, he's unaffected by the criticism he's received leading up to the fight against TBE -- even if it's coming from his own brother.

"I've become like rubber sheet metal, dude. In this fight, everyone’s saying a lot of things. And, for good reason. I’m fighting Floyd f**king Mayweather. So I’ve literally become immune to [everything], I’ve heard it all."

One of the biggest critics has been superstar Canelo Alvarez, who told us it was a "lack of respect" for pros to go up against YouTubers in the ring.

Mitt Romney endured a mighty long 4-hour plane ride to our nation's capital, because he was basically flying Air Trump -- a loud group of Trump supporters calling him a "traitor" to his face.

The Utah's GOP Senator got on a flight Tuesday headed for D.C., where he was confronted by backers of the Prez who asked him if he planned to stand against certifying the 2020 Election results ... something a handful of other Republicans vowed to do Wednesday.

Mitt stands firm ... telling them no, flat-out -- and explaining he's going to follow the process laid out by the Constitution. They basically threatened to vote him out in a future primary, but ya gotta see how the Senator handled it. Pretty cool customer.

However, the real chaos started inside the cabin of the aircraft -- it appears there were at least 2 different times while Mitt was in his seat that several other passengers literally jeered at him, chanting "TRAITOR!" over and over and over again.

Of course, it's no surprise Senator Romney's taking heat -- but it's different seeing it play out in public like this, especially from his own constituents. He's long spoken out against Trump, especially lately as it pertains to trying to contest the election without rock-solid evidence.

At least we know the guy's consistent 🤷🏽‍♂️

A group of Trump supporters protesting on the eve of the 2020 Election results being certified were met with brute force by cops ... who whipped out pepper spray to keep 'em at bay.

Tons of demonstrations were taking place Tuesday night in D.C., where folks who support the President were marching in the streets, holding mini rallies and making their displeasure known ahead of Wednesday's vote in Congress to lock up Joe Biden's victory for good.

Later in the evening, things came to a head near BLM Plaza and Freedom Plaza in Downtown -- not too far from the White House -- where several of these pro-Trump members clashed with MPDC, who started pushing them back ... and then started spraying.

Yes, we're talking about pepper spray -- and there was a lot of it being ejected into the rowdy crowd, sometimes right into guys' faces. Unclear what exactly prompted this specific headbutt, but some eyewitnesses online claim it popped off when the protesters tried entering BLM Plaza, which was being guarded by police.

If you're wondering if anyone was arrested ... oh yeah, people were taken in for allegedly carrying firearms without proper licenses, parading around unregistered ammo and guns, and even assaulting officers.

In all, MPD tells us they busted 10 people. Also, 6 of their officers were injured.

Of course, the sight of Trump supporters duking it out with cops is interesting -- usually, they're the ones supporting law enforcement ... and Trump's proudly touted himself as the law and order President who has staunch support of police.

Miya Ponsetto falsely accusing a Black teen of stealing her iPhone and attacking him had nothing to do with racism ... at least according to her lawyer, who says she was having a panic attack.

Attorney Sharen H. Ghatan is representing Miya and her mother, Nicole Ponsetto, and Ghatan tells TMZ ... the NYC incident that led to Miya getting labeled "SoHo Karen" is not what everyone is making it out to be.

Her lawyer says she was in NYC visiting her father for Christmas, and like everyone else -- her whole life is on her phone and she needed it to navigate the city. He says she started feeling anxious when she realized she'd lost it.

Ghatan claims Miya has a history of anxiety attacks and was experiencing one when she accused Keyon Harrold's 14-year-old son of stealing her phone and went after him. Ghatan isn't excusing her aggression -- she says that wasn't right, but insists it was anxiety-induced ... not racially charged.

All of that is, no doubt, info NYPD will want to hear. Detectives investigating the iPhone incident are flying to L.A. this week to speak with Miya ... but that could become an issue, because Miya's off the grid.

Ghatan says Miya left home and turned off her phone -- she's not responding to messages from her mother or her attorney, who say they're concerned about her well-being.

They say strangers have shown up at their L.A.-area home, followed them and made threats.

Assuming everything is alright, Ghatan says Miya and Nicole are open to speaking with the Harrold family to gain closure. As for NYPD ... Ghatan tells us detectives will need to talk to her first before getting to Miya.

As we first reported, Miya and her mother have other legal troubles -- they were both arrested in February 2020 for allegedly being drunk in public at the Peninsula hotel in Bev Hills.