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US Capitol siege LIVE updates: Hours after a rally by Donald Trump at Washington DC, his supporters stormed Capitol Hill. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

9:50 PM

Republican congressman calls for Trump's ouster with 25th Amendment

Republican US Representative Adam Kinzinger on Thursday called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove President Donald Trump from office, a day after the president's supporters stormed the US Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy.
 

"All indications are that the president has become unmoored, not just from his duty or even his oath, but from reality itself," Kinzinger said in a video he posted on Twitter.

9:42 PM

Facebook, Instagram to block Trump's account for rest of his presidential term

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said that the current block on President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will be extended indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks.
 

“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. The blocks in place will be extended “until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as President, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

8:42 PM

China likens US riots to Hong Kong pro-democracy protests

China on Thursday likened a mob assault on the US Capitol Hill to that of Hong Kong protesters' attack on the local legislative building in 2019 and questioned the contrasting reactions by the international community and the media, while the Chinese netizens cheered the incident in America with words like "Karma", "retribution" and "deserving".

 

"We have noted what has taken place in the US and we believe that the American people hope for a return to normal order as soon as possible," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a media briefing here while responding to questions seeking China's response to the Capitol riots and Chinese social media reactions applauding the unprecedented violence, PTI reported.

 

"Many Chinese netizens are wondering why some politicians and media in the US reacted so differently to a similar situation," Hua said, drawing a comparison between the Capitol Hill riots and the attack on the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong by pro-democracy protesters in 2019.

8:00 PM

Trump supporters storm US Capitol; four dead in violence before Congress certifies Biden-Harris win

In an unprecedented assault on democracy in the US, thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building here and clashed with police, resulting in four deaths and interrupting a constitutional process by Congress to affirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the election.

 

The Electoral College votes of Biden and Harris were finally approved early on Thursday after both the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected all objections raised by the Republicans to the votes in the states of Pennsylvania and Arizona.

 

In the presidential election held on November 3, Biden and Harris received 306 electoral votes, while President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence got 232. The counting of Vermont's three electoral votes put Biden and Harris over the 270-threshold needed to win the presidency.

 

The 78-year-old Democratic leader and his 56-year-old Indian-origin deputy will be inaugurated on January 20, it was announced after the constitutional process was finally completed by a joint session of Congress.

7:36 PM

Joe Biden nominates Judge Merrick Garland as US Attorney General

US President-elect Joe Biden has formally announced appellate court Judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for the post of the US attorney general.

 

Biden announced the key nominations for the Department of Justice on Thursday. Besides Garland, Lisa Monaco, the homeland security adviser to former President Barack Obama, has been appointed to the post of deputy attorney general.

 

In 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated Garland to serve on the US Supreme Court, but his nomination languished in the Republican-controlled Senate at the end of the former president's term.

 

Garland is a Department of Justice veteran and independent jurist on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

6:56 PM

US politicians and business corporations express shock after attack at Capitol by pro-Trump protesters

6:22 PM

US Congress certifies Biden-Harris victory; Trump pledges 'orderly transition' after riot disrupts Capitol

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next US president and vice-president, Congress certified early on Thursday, hours after a stunned world saw unprecedented chaos and deadly violence when thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building and sought to thwart the peaceful transfer of power.

 

The Electoral College votes were approved after both the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected objections raised by the Republicans to the votes in the states of Pennsylvania and Arizona.

 

Biden and Harris received 306 electoral votes, while Trump and Pence got 232. The counting of Vermont's three electoral votes put Biden and Harris over the 270-threshold needed to win the presidency.

 

The 78-year-old Democratic leader and his 56-year-old Indian-origin deputy will be inaugurated on January 20. In the violence on Wednesday, four people died, including one woman who was shot by a police officer, amid protests and rioting on Capitol Hill that resulted in dozens of demonstrators being arrested, police said.

5:54 PM

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office damaged during Capitol attack

Pro-Trump rioters -- who overtook the US Capitol on Wednesday and stormed past police barricades -- vandalised the office of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

Pelosi's aides said the mob shattered a big mirror in the office of the 80-year-old top Democrat and took the nameplate from above the door of her office in the highly-secure building.

 

One image captured a Trump supporter sitting with his feet up on the desk of Pelosi, a fierce critic of the President Donald Trump, a Republican. Rioters flipped over tables and tore down photographs from the walls, according to The New York Times. 

CNN reported earlier that a photo from inside her office suite showed a folder with the words "we will not back down" written on it. READ ON...

 

5:44 PM

Four died and 52 arrested after supporters of Donald Trump stormed US Capitol

5:33 PM

Barack Obama calls Capitol chaos 'dishonour, shame' for the US

Former President of the United States Barack Obama has described the unprecedented chaos at the Capitol as "a moment of great dishonour" and "shame" for the nation.

 

"History will rightly remember today's violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonour and shame for our nation. But we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise," Obama said in a statement posted on Twitter.

 

The Ex-US President blasted the Republican Party and "its accompanying media ecosystem" for refusing to acknowledge "this was not a particularly close election and that President-elect (Joe) Biden will be inaugurated on January 20."

 

"Their fantasy narrative has spiralled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments," he said. Obama called on Republican lawmakers to "choose reality" and "choose America" or continue "stoking the raging fires."

 

The former Democratic President expressed optimism over the number of Republicans who spoke out against Trump on Wednesday.

5:08 PM

Four living former US presidents deride Capitol breach by Trump supporters

Slamming President Donald Trump for inciting violence at the US Capitol, all four living former US presidents -- Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter -- have condemned the actions of pro-Trump rioters and underlined the need for a peaceful transfer of power.

 

The statement of Obama and three former presidents came hours after thousands of pro-Trump rioters on Wednesday stormed the US Capitol, interrupting a joint session of Congress where lawmakers were set to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win.

 

History will rightly remember today's violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonour and shame for our nation. But we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise, Obama said in a lengthy statement. READ ON...

4:45 PM

Donald Trump finally concedes after Congress affirms Joe Biden's win

For the first time since the November 2020 election, US President Donald Trump on Thursday conceded against President-elect Joe Biden, saying that there would be an "orderly transition of power" on January 20, shortly after Congress affirmed the Democrat's Electoral College victory.

 

"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. "I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.

 

"While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement which was posted on the social media by senior White House aide Don Scavino since Twitter and Facebook temporarily blocked the President.

4:24 PM

LIVE: US Lawmakers reconvene to certify Electoral College votes after storming of Capitol

4:22 PM

US Speaker Pelosi asks Congress to resume joint session to consider election results

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday (local time) asked the Congress to resume a joint session to consider election results.

 

"Today's shameful assault on our democracy -- anointed at the highest level of government -- must not deter us from our responsibility to the Constitution. Tonight, we will move forward with the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's election," tweeted Pelosi.

 

The House of Representatives voted 282-138 against an attempt to overturn Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. The Congress had earlier rejected an attempt to object to Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election results in Arizona.

3:58 PM

Distressed to see news on rioting and violence: PM Modi on US Capitol chaos