Authorities declared the US Capitol complex “safe”.
At least one person was shot and killed, although it is unclear who pulled the trigger during the chaotic scene.
Violent protesters loyal to Trump invaded the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in an impressive attempt to overthrow America’s presidential election, undermine the country’s democracy and prevent Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the House White.
The National Guard and the state and federal police were called to control, and the Washington mayor imposed a rare night curfew. It was reported that a person was shot.
Trump, the defeated president, encouraged the protesters as Congress met for a joint session to certify Joe Biden’s victory.
Under the risers themselves set up for Biden’s inauguration at the United States Capitol, Trump supporters gathered.
While gathering his supporters outside the White House on Wednesday morning, he encouraged them to march to the Capitol. But later – hours after they fought the police and raped the building – he told them in a video that although they were “very special people” and he supported his cause, they should “go home in peace”.
In addition to a couple of tweets and that one-minute video, Trump was largely disconnected from occupying a leading seat in the country’s government.
MORE: Trump, on video, tells protesters ‘very special’ to go home, but maintains false electoral attacks; Twitter signals ‘risk of violence’
It was Vice President Mike Pence, not Trump, who spoke to defense leaders about calling on the National Guard.
President-elect Biden, two weeks from his inauguration, declared in Wilmington, Delaware: “I ask President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the constitution and demand an end to this siege”,
Biden said that democracy is “under unprecedented attack”, a sentiment echoed by many in Congress, including some Republicans.
WATCH: Joe Biden calls the Capitol mob to ‘retreat’, urges the restoration of decency
The chaotic protests interrupted the counting of the results of the Electoral College, constitutionally ordered by Congress, in which Biden defeated Trump, 306-232. Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell tried to divert Congress from Wednesday’s formal protest against these results, and he said at the start of proceedings that Trump had clearly lost.
WATCH: Mitch McConnell interrupts Trump in a violent speech
Inside the Chamber of Deputies, lawmakers described an agonizing scene.
While on the ground, they were instructed to have gas masks ready – and to remove the lapel pins they use to identify them as elected representatives.
The police wielded weapons and the furniture blocked the door.
The glass was broken. Some prayed while the protesters knocked on the doors. Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips shouted loudly to Republicans: “This is because of you!”
A chaplain prayed while the police guarded the chamber doors and lawmakers tried to gather information about what was going on.
Announcements boomed: Due to an “external security threat”, no one could enter or leave the Capitol complex, the recording said. Lawmakers tweeted that they were taking shelter there.
Reporters and lawmakers hid under the tables as protesters knocked on the door, demanding permission to enter. Rumors of weapons spread, but it was unclear whether any shots were fired alongside one. Tear gas is said to have been dispersed in the Rotunda.
After making sure the corridors were clean, the police quickly escorted people through a series of corridors and tunnels to a cafeteria in one of the City’s office buildings.
Upon leaving Capitol Hill, Connecticut representative Jim Himes said he “always assumed it could never happen here.”
But others were not so sure.
Pennsylvania MP Mike Kelly, among those who challenged Biden’s victory, blamed “both sides” for the chaos on Capitol Hill.
“What do you think was going on in this country?” he told reporters. “Many people over the past four years have been increasingly indignant at what is happening in the country, on both sides. It is a pity. This is not how we handle things in America.”
The Senate side was not much different.
Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the session, was evacuated from the Senate while protesters and police shouted outside.
Police evacuated the chamber at 2:30 pm, leading the senators to the first of several undisclosed locations.
The clerks took boxes of certificates from the electoral college on their way out.
Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, present at the session, was among those sent to a safe location.
As soon as they left, the protesters walked down the corridors shouting, “Where are they?” One went up to the Senate podium and shouted, “Trump won that election.”
More than a dozen people were arrested.
SEE ALSO: US lawmakers react to DC protest that blocked Capitol Hill
When darkness began to fall, the police worked towards the protesters, using percussion grenades to try to clear the area around the Capitol. Large clouds of tear gas were visible. Police in full shock equipment descended the stairs, confronting the protesters.
This added a frightening scenario for lawmakers, who were instructed to take extraordinary measures for their own safety. Protesters abruptly interrupted Congressional proceedings in a frightening scene that featured official warnings directing people to duck under their seats to protect themselves and put on gas masks after tear gas was used at the Capitol Rotunda. Some House legislators tweeted that they were taking shelter in their offices.
Representative Scott Peters, D-Calif., Told reporters he was in the Chamber of Deputies when protesters started attacking her. The security guards “told us all to go down, I could see they were defending themselves from some kind of robbery, it seemed. They had furniture leaning against the door, at the door, at the entrance to the Rotunda floor, they pulled their guns,” said Peters.
“And they just told us to get our pins out,” he added, referring to the lapel pins that members use so that Capitol Police can quickly identify them. Then lawmakers were evacuated.
A clerk helped grab the Electoral College ballot boxes during the evacuation. Otherwise, said Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., The ballots would likely have been destroyed by the protesters.
RELATED: Electoral College Ballots Rescued While Protesters Invade US Capitol, Says Senator
Trump supporters posting on popular Internet forums with elements of the far right celebrated chaos. Messages posted in one went from profane frustration over the content of Trump’s speech to joy when supporters stormed the building. At least one major figure was broadcasting a live video from inside the Capitol during the siege.
The Pentagon said that about 1,100 members of the District of Columbia National Guard are being mobilized to help support law enforcement on Capitol Hill.
Pence was closely watched as he climbed the dais to preside over the joint session in the Chamber of Deputies.
Pence had a largely ceremonial role, opening the sealed envelopes of the states after they were loaded into the mahogany boxes used for the occasion and reading the results out loud. But he was under increasing pressure from Trump to overturn voter will and bend the results in favor of the president, despite having no legal power to affect the outcome.
“Do it Mike, this is an hour of extreme courage!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
MORE: Rioter enters Nancy Pelosi’s office, takes pictures with her feet on her desk
But Pence, in a statement shortly before his presidency, challenged Trump, saying he could not claim “unilateral authority” to reject the electoral votes that make Biden president.
Despite Trump’s repeated allegations of electoral fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All states have certified their results as fair and accurate, both by Republican and Democratic officials.
Arizona was the first of several states that faced objections from Republicans while Congress was alphabetically reading election results. Then chaos broke out.
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