U.S. politicians and world leaders Thursday condemned the storming of the Capitol building Wednesday. Some called for the immediate removal of President Donald Trump.
Across the world, political figures expressed shock and disappointment. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "disgraceful scenes" and called for a "peaceful and orderly transfer of power."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would proceed with the certification of Biden's victory Thursday.
Republican former President George W. Bush criticized the rioters who forced a shutdown of the House and Senate chambers of the U.S. Capitol - calling the scene "sickening and heartbreaking."
"This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic - not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown for our institutions, our traditions and our law enforcement. The violent assault on the Capitol - and disruption of a Constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress - was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes," Bush said.
He said "it is the fundamental responsibility of every patriotic citizen to support the rule of law. To those who are disappointed in the results of the election: Our country is more important than the politics of the moment."
And Twitter locked President Trump's account. It also removed three of Trump's tweets, which it said had violated a company policy that forbids using the app "for the purpose of manipulating or interfering."
The Capitol has been declared secure. However, the riot forced debate on Joe Biden's victory in the Electoral College to be suspended.
"I have faced violent hatred before. I was not deterred then, and I will not be deterred now," Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a member of the congressional leadership and a veteran of the civil rights movement, said in a tweet.
The army said 1,100 National Guards had been deploying to the Capitol to help local police and others. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a 6 p.m. curfew after a day of chaos and violence.
An unidentified woman shot in the chest on Capitol grounds as the violence spilled out of control has died, NBC News reported.
Several officers were also injured in the clashes and Washington police director Peter Newsham said that rioters used "chemical irritants" on police, The Associated Press reported.
The rioters swarmed the Capitol, breaching the House and Senate chambers and forcing the police to immediately escort politicians to safety.
"All we want is for the Capitol police to stand down and surrender the building to us," one man shouted to news cameras.
Earlier, Trump had called on his supporters for a demonstration in Washington to block the congressional certification of the Electoral College vote, a process that would validate Biden's win.
Trump's speech included calls for Mike Pence, his vice president, to step outside his constitutional bounds and revoke the outcome of the election.
The Department of Homeland Security, which had set up a virtual situation room to provide a communication link between different agencies, is not currently detecting any "active threats," representative Alexei Woltornist said.
On Twitter, Trump commented: "These are things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly and unfairly treated for so long."Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the violent Trump supporters were on the "right side" of the law and history. "Let's have trial by combat!" Giuliani told the crowd ahead of Trump's speech.
Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney has accused the president of inciting "insurrection" against the U.S. government.
Biden said "at this hour our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times...It's chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end now."
