In an "unprecedented assault" on democracy in America, thousands of angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol and clashed with police, resulting in casualties and multiple injuries and interrupting a constitutional process to affirm Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.
Here are the key things you need to know about the incident:
1. Whilst the House of Representative and the Senate had convened to certify Joe Biden's electoral college votes, pro-Trump rioters stormed into the US Capitol building, triggering the suspension of the session and evacuation of all members of Congress.
2. In yesterday's Georgia Senate runoffs, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, giving Democrats control of the Legislature and the Executive enraging Trump supporters.
3. President Donald Trump in the midst of the violence tweeted a video saying, "We have to have peace. So go home. We love you -- you're very special." In the video, he continued to purport unfounded claims of election fraud. Before Twitter removed it, these tweets carried a warning and it couldn't be liked, commented on, or retweeted.
Twitter later hid the tweet from public view until they were deleted, suspending Trump from the micro-blogging platform for 12 hours. Twitter said Trump's messages were violations of the platform's rules on civic integrity and that any future violations "will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account."
Also Read | Facebook, Twitter lock Trump's account; YouTube removes his video after Capitol violence
Facebook also barred Trump from posting at the social network or its Instagram service for 24 hours, saying his messages were promoting violence.
4. On December 20, Trump had tweeted, "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election". "Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"
Ahead of the violence, Trump told a crowd in Washington DC on Wednesday, "We're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and Congressmen and women."
5. DC police said that four people died in the riots at the Capitol, adding that three died from medical emergencies and one from a gunshot wound.
6. With criticism coming from all quarters, including his aides and Republicans, four White House staffers, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Matthews, Rickie Niceta and deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, have resigned, with more expected to follow.
7. Vice President Mike Pence, rather than Trump himself, reportedly approved an order to deploy the National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent 1,000 national guard troops to Washington DC.
8. Members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet on Wednesday discussed the possibility of removing Trump from office after his supporters stormed the Capitol, three US news channels reported. The discussions focused on the 25th amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for a President's removal by the Vice President and Cabinet if he is judged "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."
House Judiciary Committee Democrats called on Vice President Mike Pence in a letter Wednesday to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office, saying he incited mob violence at the US Capitol. Several Democrats have called for Trump to be impeached and removed from office before January 20, when Biden will be sworn in at the President of the United States.
9. Under pressure from their colleagues, some Republicans who had planned several hours of objections to Biden’s victory agreed to drop their challenges, although Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was expected to press forward with a challenge to Pennsylvania’s electors. Senator Kelly Loeffler who lost one of the Georgia Senate runoffs was one of the first to drop her challenge to the certification of Biden's Electoral College votes.
However, the US Congress has rejected the objection to the Electoral College vote count of Georgia and the Senate has rejected the objection to Pennsylvania's Electoral vote count, so far.
10. Leaders around the world condemned the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, expressing shock at the chaos unfolding in a country they once relied upon for global leadership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed distress over mob violence at the US Capitol. " Distressed to see news about rioting and violence in Washington DC. Orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue. The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through unlawful protests," he tweeted.
"Disgraceful scenes in US Congress," tweeted Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, a staunch ally of the United States over generations. "The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."
Other European allies were similarly appalled at what they described as an attack on American democracy. Some singled out Trump for harsh criticism.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement urged all parties in the United States to use "moderation and common sense." "We believe that the United States will overcome this domestic political crisis with maturity,” the ministry said.
(With inputs from agencies)