Supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol - the seat of the US Congress - on Wednesday morning, causing utter chaos in an ongoing session of the US Congress. One lady is reported dead, and Washington DC has been placed under curfew for a period of 15 days by the city's mayor.
The rioters went into several chambers of Capitol, with reports of gunfire and vandalism also emerging from the scenes. The storming started with Trump supporters protesting outside a poorly guarded barricade of the Congress, eventually entering the premises.
The police have made reportedly made 30 arrests.
Trump held a political rally in the city on that day, coinciding with Vice President Mike Pence, his deputy, presiding over a joint sitting of Congress that certifies the electoral college result that formally elects Vice President Joe Biden as US President in a constitutional procedure that till now has been largely ceremonial.
After the Capitol building was secure by Wednesday night local time, members of Congress reconvened and began the certification process again. Pence has also returned to the Chambers of Congress, according to his spokesperson after he "never left the building."
Facebook and Twitter put temporary ban on Trump
In his address and through tweets - his preferred medium of communication - Trump is said to have egged his supporters to go on and commit violence. The theme of his rallies against the election result drew thousands to the capital district, to attend his 'Stop the Steal'-themed rally.
Trump, his supporters and his allies in Congress have been pressuring Pence to invalidate the result in what Trump thinks is a rigged election, in a stance he has maintained since his November 3 electoral loss.
Twitter and Facebook have decided to impose a temporary ban on Trump posting on their platform. Twitter, for the first time, has outright removed three tweets of Trump for violating is content policy. Twitter has further banned him for 12 hours. Facebook has blocked him for 24 hours. Both have also taken down videos of him purportedly showing him push his supporters towards such a move.
However, Trump later urged his supporters to go home.
Chaos draws worldwide attention
Several leaders of major democracies around the world have reacted to the violence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Justin Trudueau of Canada
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom
Josep Borell, the European Union's deputy commissioner and foreign policy chief