Though events are still unfolding, this much we know: earlier today, an angry mob animated by Donald Trump’s spurious claims about election fraud violently stormed and occupied parts of the US Capitol Building, breaking up a session of Congress just as it was set to certify the results of November’s presidential vote. At time of writing, two possible explosive devices had been identified (and disarmed), and at least one person is reportedly dead from a gunshot wound.

The immediate inspiration for these events is, of course, Trump’s refusal to concede defeat and his sustained effort to brand November’s election as stolen. But what happened today was not the result of Trump’s words and actions alone. For the past several weeks, a section of Republican elites has proven all too happy to indulge and inflame the conspiracy theories being fed to their base — with plenty of GOP House members and no less than a dozen Republican senators saying they planned to vote against certification of the Electoral College.

The chorus has included high-profile members like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley — who, fresh from issuing a completely erroneous complaint about protestors threatening his family, could be seen waving to Trump supporters just before they stormed the Capitol building.