Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in the two months after ballots closed culminated in a violent riot in the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, which saw four dead and 52 arrested.
Swathes of his supporters descended on the government building where Congress were due to complete proceedings to officially name Joe Biden as the 46th President.
Having smashed their way through police barricades, dozens of rioters, described as “domestic terrorists” by various politicians and commentators, marauded through the corridors of the Capitol before attempting to burst into the Senate chamber.
Members of Congress were forced to flee before returning later to complete the official Electoral College vote count.
Here are all the key updates from a night of madness;
Four dead and 52 arrested
Four people died on the US Capitol grounds on Wednesday and 52 people have been arrested, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee has said.
Donald Trump supporters stormed the government building in an unprecedented effort to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
One died from a gunshot wound while three others as a result of ‘medical reasons’.
Irish leaders and politicians condemn US chaos
Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned the madness in the US and said he was watching on with "great concern".
Mr Martin tweeted: "The Irish people have a deep connection with the United States of America, built up over many generations.
"I know that many, like me, will be watching the scenes unfolding in Washington DC with great concern and dismay."
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney added: "Shocking & deeply sad scenes in Washington DC - we must call this out for what it is: a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters, attempting to overturn a free & fair election! The world is watching! We hope for restoration of calm."
Trump locked out of Twitter and Facebook
Donald Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have been suspended after he published posts which deemed to incite violence amid the deadly Capitol riots.
The US President’s Twitter account is locked for 12 hours and the social media platform told him to remove three posts related to the unrest.
It also threatened to permanently ban the Republican leader if there are any future violations.
Facebook then followed suit, locking the President from posting for 24 hours, citing “two policy violations”.
Calls for impeachment
Calls have been made for Pence to trigger the 25th amendment, accusing Trump of inciting violence, including the National Association of Manufactures chief, the head of the NAACP and Vermont’s Republican governor.
Both impeachment and invoking of the 25th would see Pence takeover as a stand-in president for a matter of days.
Pence was in the Senate chamber when rioters stormed the Capitol, and later announced he would not bow to Trump’s pressure in accepting the election was fraudulent.
Trump supporter who was shot dead named
The Donald Trump supporter who was shot and killed inside the US Capitol during the protests has been named as a US military veteran.
Ashli Babbit, who served for 14 years in the Air Force, was gunned down by law enforcement officers after reportedly failing to heed calls to move back amid the chaos.
The San Diego resident served four tours as a high level security official throughout her time in service.
