The mayor of Washington, Muriel Booser, announced a curfew for citizens until Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. (local time). In a post on Twitter, Illinois Republican Senator Adam Kinzinger referred to an attempted coup.

Injured by gunfire

According to CNNi, citing two sources, a woman was shot in the chest. Shortly afterwards, a video was posted on Twitter showing a woman with a gunshot wound to her neck:

Shortly afterwards, information began to be broadcast about several police officers who have been injured and at least one has been taken to hospital.

In a joint session of both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the US Senate, the results of the Electoral College were examined for the victory of Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential election, against Republican incumbent President Donald Trump.

«Have your gas masks ready.»

The unprecedented events unfolding at the Capitol are captured in a series of tweets by Dean Phillips, a member of the US Congress elected in Minnesota. He reports that members of Congress were asked to find a safe place to take shelter in the House of Representatives chamber and to have gas masks ready for use.

«This [what is happening] is crazy,» he says. He adds that he finds it impossible to believe what is happening at the Capitol, the temple of democracy in the United States. He addresses the American people, calling on them to pay close attention to the worst nightmare of the founding fathers of the United States and those who instigate and allow it.

Biden's statements are expected

US President-elect Joe Biden is at The Queen theater in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, where he made statements regarding the pandemic, the economy, and the election results in Georgia. According to CNNi, he is monitoring developments at the Capitol and is expected to make statements about the violent protests escalating in Washington.

Trump's statement

Outgoing US President Donald Trump urged his supporters on Twitter to «support» the police and law enforcement agencies after the Republican tycoon's supporters stormed the Capitol.

«They are truly on our country's side. Stay peaceful!» he wrote.

A short time earlier, Donald Trump told his cheering supporters that he would never concede defeat in the 2020 presidential election, citing widespread electoral fraud.

«We will never give up. We will never quit. We will never concede (defeat),» Trump said during a rally near the White House. «We will stop the theft. We won this election, and we won it big.».

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Subsequently, the outgoing president called on Vice President Mike Pence not to certify Joe Biden's victory during an emergency session of Congress and described elected Republicans as «weak» and «pathetic.».

«If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,» the outgoing president told a crowd of supporters. «If he doesn't, it will be a sad day for our country,» he added, implying that he doubts his vice president's stance.

Pence defies Trump

The Vice President Mike Pence did not obey his command Donald Trump not to certify Joe Biden's victory during an emergency session of Congress. In a lengthy letter to members of Congress, Pence emphasizes that no requests to overturn the election results can be submitted.

In his letter, Pence explicitly states that he does not have “the authority to decide unilaterally” and that he could not change the results of the election.

«In my judgment, my oath to uphold and defend the Constitution prevents me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which ballots should be counted and which should not,» he wrote.