Donald Trump impeached for historic second time for ‘incitement of insurrection’

In extraordinary scenes, the Democratic Party majority passed the single article of impeachment that alleged Mr Trump is guilty of “incitement of insurrection” - just a week before he is set to leave office.

Ten Republican lawmakers also voted for the resolution, breaking with 201 of their congressional colleagues.

Mr Trump is now the only President in history to be impeached twice.

It comes after a sometimes emotional debate, with many lawmakers sharing their experiences of the storming of the Capitol building last Wednesday.

Six people were killed when thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators overran law enforcement officals stationed at Capitol Hill, plunging a joint session of Congress into chaos.

Hundreds of lawmakers were forced to barricade themselves in their offices, and Vice President Mike Pence, had to be evacuated from the building by secret service officials.

Before the violence erupted, President Trump had told thousands of his supporters outside the White House that the November 2020 election had been “stolen” from him.

The United States House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a historic second time after his supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. last week. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

Opening today’s debate, Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said: “We know that the President of the United States incited this insurrection - this armed rebellion against our common country.

“He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the country we all love.”

She accused Mr Trump of repeatedly lying about the outcome of last year’s presidential vote, and alleged that he pressured election officials to overturn the result.

“The President must be impeached, and I believe, the President must be convicted by the Senate.”

Opening today’s debate, Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said: “We know that the President of the United States incited this insurrection - this armed rebellion against our common country." (Photo by Amanda Voisard - Pool/Getty Images)

Republican lawmakers expressed outrage at what they claimed was a lack of due process, arguing that Mr Trump should not be impeached after just a few hours of debate.

GOP Congressman Jim Jordan, from Ohio, accused Democrats of trying to “cancel” the President.

It is now up to the US Senate to hold a trial to decide whether the outgoing President should be removed from office.

The timeline for such a trial, however, will be almost impossible to achieve before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.

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