President Donald Trump's impeachment trial is expected to extend into the weekend and wind up next week. Trump is watching events from his home in Florida and as of early Thursday had yet to make any public comment.
Trump lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen will take the stage again Friday to deliver evidence.
Prosecutors presented evidence Wednesday in the impeachment trial of the former leader who they say was the "inciter-in-chief" behind the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that left five dead and many injured.
Using Trump's delivered speech and tweets from the day, along with dramatic video, impeachment managers sought to tie the former president's words and actions to the riot that left Capitol guards begging for reinforcements.
"He told them to 'fight like hell,' and they brought us hell that day," lead impeachment manager Representative Jamie Raskin said Wednesday.
Each side has 16 hours to present their arguments to the Senate before the issue is taken to a vote.
Democrats prosecuting the case revealed for the first time chilling security footage of rioters smashing windows and hunting the corridors of the Capitol searching for senators.
"Ex-president Trump was no innocent bystander," Raskin said. "The evidence will show that he clearly incited the Jan. 6 insurrection."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to be taken from the Capitol complex during the riot, impeachment managers said Wednesday.
"We know from the rioters themselves that if they had found Speaker Pelosi, they would have killed her," Stacey Plaskett, one of the impeachment managers, said.
A Capitol police officer was shown guiding Mitt Romney away from the first floor as the mob entered the building.
The former president "put a target on the backs" of senior officials, including his own running mate Mike Pence, as he "deliberately encouraged" violence, said Plaskett.
"The evidence presented thus far is pretty damning," Alaska's Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told CNN on Wednesday.
But it remains to be seen whether other Republicans will be convinced. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict and the Senate is currently evenly divided.
After presenting their opening remarks Tuesday observers were reported to be underwhelmed by the prosecutors evidence. They described them as rambling and "unthinkable," according to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
"Did you listen to it?" Republican Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana said to reporters who asked for his thoughts on Trump's defense.
