Wisconsin Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher says it was dangerous to give Americans "false hope" that Congress would somehow hand Trump victory on Wednesday.

"We incited some very extreme passions and that resulted in destruction and even death," he told CBS News this morning, calling the attempt by Republicans in Congress to overturn November's vote "a cynical gambit".

Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who tried to run for president against Trump, described her experience on Capitol Hill as demonstrators broke in after hearing Trump's speech.

"We had to get back in there to show the American people that, as horrific as this was, that the government was still functioning.

"And we were going to finish our work and that we were going to get those votes counted and make very clear that Joe Biden was going to be the next president of the United States."

Image source, Getty Images

Biden goes on to say that the protesters yesterday, who were are largely white crowd, were not treated aggressively by police partly due to their race.

"Nobody could tell me that if it was a group of Black Lives Matter protesters yesterday they wouldn't have been treated very differently than the thugs that stormed the Capitol yesterday."

He says that his granddaughter yesterday texted him a photo from the racial justice protests over the summer that triggered an aggressive reaction from authorities in DC.

The picture, Biden says, showed police in riot gear standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in DC to oppose those that rallied against police brutality and racism.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, ge

President-elect Joe Biden, who takes over on 20 January, is speaking now from Delaware, where he is expected to announce his pick to lead the Department of Justice.

He describes yesterday as "one of the darkest days in the history of our nation" and "an assault, literally, on the citadel of liberty".

"It was not dissent, it was not disorder," Biden continues. "It was chaos," he continues saying those at the capitol were not protesters, but instead a "riotous mob" and "domestic terrorists".

"And I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming. But that isn’t true. We could see it coming," he says.

"The last four years we’ve had a president who made his contempt for our democracy, our Constitution, our rule of law, clear," he says.

"He unleashed an all out assault on the institutions of our democracy from the outset," continues Biden.

Transport Secretary Elaine Chao has resigned over the events at the Capitol.

"Yesterday, our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the president stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed.

"As I'm sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside," she said.

Her resignation takes effect from Monday, nine days before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

We reported earlier that there was a minor scuffle involving Democrat Colin Allred of Texas and other congressmen in the House of Representatives last night.

But Allred's office and colleagues have now clarified that he only stepped in to "diffuse tension".

"He was not involved in the initial confrontation and at no point did he near physical violence," his office said.

Chris Mason
Political Correspondent

Boris Johnson -- until now -- has been consistently reticent to wade into direct personal criticisms of President Trump.

But, after the riots in Washington last night, and with only a fortnight until the President leaves the White House, the Prime Minister has just been much more direct.

In answer to a question from my colleague Alex Forsyth -- “was Donald Trump responsible for inciting the crowds that stormed the Capitol?" -- Mr Johnson said it had been "completely wrong" of the President to "consistently cast doubt" on the election result.

In saying he would "unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way they did" his criticism was forthright and direct.

Not just a condemnation of what happened, but a condemnation of the President's behaviour.

Politically, this is easier to do when you know the man in question is on his way out in a couple of weeks, but it is nonetheless significant.

Image source, Getty Images

Workers today are putting up a seven foot tall (2.1 meter) fence outside Congress, something that lawmakers had long resisted but has been deemed necessary after Capitol Police failed to prevent a mob from storming the building yesterday.

The black fencing looks similar to the structure that temporarily went up around the White House during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.

Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said that the "non-scaleable" fence was being erected by the military and would remain up for least 30 days.

BBC reporters at the scene say that just before noon local time, officers began clearing onlookers from the area. Only journalists, clean up crews, and security officials remain inside the perimeter.

Nomia Iqbal
BBC News, Capitol Hill

Image source, EPA

Jesse from Wisconsin told us he was on the steps of the Capitol yesterday but didn’t go inside.

Citing Trump's unsubstantiated claims of "fraudulent ballots", he tells me: “I guess it is sort of shaping up to be a war, but the war was declared when they stole the election.

"And the fact they don’t even want to look at the evidence testifies to the fraud that there is.

"So yeah, it got a little bit out of hand but, boy, if they don’t want to do anything it might get worse.”

His friend Steve, who is also from Wisconsin, says he rejects those that entered the building yesterday.“We are disheartened because of the people that did want to go into the Capitol. We didn’t think that was necessary," he says.

"I think our intent was peaceful protesting. And tear gas and these sorts of things didn’t need to be used. People didn’t need to break windows or run inside the Capitol. That’s how I feel.”

Image source, Getty Images

Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify has taken down stores selling merchandise affiliated with Donald Trump.

In a statement, the Ottawa-based company said that Trump has violated their policy against condoning and inciting violence.

“Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence," a Shopify spokesperson said one day after the violence in Washington.

"Based on recent events, we have determined that the actions by President Donald J Trump violate our Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits promotion or support of organisations, platforms or people that threaten or condone violence to further a cause.”

“As a result, we have terminated stores affiliated with President Trump.”

The policy change means that the official store of the Trump Organization, Trumpstore.com, and the Trump campaign store, shop.donaldjtrump.com, are no longer available online.

Two US congressmen had a minor scuffle on the floor of the House of Representatives around 02:00 EDT (07:00GMT) on Thursday as lawmakers were voting to certify Biden's win.

Republican Andy Harris of Maryland and Democrat Colin Allred of Texas had to be separated by congressional staff members, according to reporters.

The unrest came after four deaths earlier in the day at the Capitol, and while Pennsylvania Democrat Conor Lamb was addressing the chamber and accusing Republicans of having fueled the violent protests.

"It didn't materialise out of nowhere," said Lamb. "It was inspired by lies. The same lies that you're hearing in this room tonight."

Republicans shouted "sit down" and "get out of here" and called for his speech to be stricken from the record. Both Democrats and Republicans rose from their benches amid the shouting.

"The truth hurts!" Lamb yelled as Republicans objected to being characterised as liars, Fox News reports.

Fox notes that Harris is a 63-year-old US Navy veteran and Allred is a 37-year-old former NFL athlete.

Order was eventually restored when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi banged her gavel, declaring: "The gentlemen will clear the chamber."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says President Donald Trump played a role in inciting yesterday's unrest.

“In so far as he encouraged people to storm the Capitol and in so far as the president consistently has cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that that was completely wrong,” Johnson said.

"All I can say is that I'm very pleased that the president-elect has now been duly confirmed in office and that democracy has prevailed."

The police chief of Washington DC, Robert Contee, is giving a news conference now where he has just said that of the 68 people arrested yesterday and early this morning, only one was from Washington DC.

He says that his department is working "to identify and hold each and every one of the violent mob accountable".

"We have collected numerous images of persons of interest that we are asking the community to help us identify," he added.

He said that 60 of those arrested were adult men, while eight were adult women.

Meanwhile, police in the neighbouring state of Maryland have created a website with images, external of the rioters, asking for residents to help identify them for prosecution.

Nomia Iqbal
BBC News, Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

It’s a freezing crisp day in DC and many people are going about their normal routine of jogging, cycling and walking their dogs. But the long line of police cars, and armed officers walking the street reveals the trouble that President Trump's supporters stirred up last night.

A car of Trump supporters drives past our broadcasting location and shout: “Fake news, traitors! Get a new job.”

A woman with her children comes up to our team and says “Are you reporting on our stolen election?” She insists the rioters were “dressed up as Trump supporters” and wasn’t interested when we put the facts to her.

Image source, Getty Images

But there are people here who are fed up with the protests. One man shouts to two Trump supporters who are riding scooters waving Trump flags, and swears at them saying: “Haven't you had enough? Go home.”

Liam, 23, says he was here last night and tried to talk to Trump supporters. “I shared a cigarette with one, he was a nice guy but it was impossible to get any sense through to him.

"I feel it’ll take a long time for divisions to heal.”

Liam says he’s appalled by the lapse of security, saying of the rioters: "If they were black, well, police would’ve acted quicker.”

Many people have come just to see the Capitol building.

A passerby says he wants to see for himself where “one of the biggest attacks on our democracy took place”.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Attorney General Bill Barr says his former boss' actions yesterday, as a mob stormed the Capitol, were a “betrayal of his office and supporters”.

Barr resigned last month after publicly disputing President Trump's claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election.

“Orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable,” he said in a statement to AP News.

Barr had been one of Trump's most ardent defenders.

He once helped defuse what could have been a political bomb for Trump by giving an advanced summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe report in a four-page memo that downplayed many of its more serious allegations.

Image source, CBS

A newly elected lawmaker from West Virginia filmed himself storming the US Capitol on Wednesday, shouting in a live feed on Facebook: "Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!"

Evans, who was just seated to West Virginia's House of Delegates last month, was seen in his now-deleted video crammed into a doorway of Congress, telling others: "We're in! Keep it moving, baby!"

The Republican reportedly organised a bus-load of maskless people to come to the Capitol, and was seen wearing what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet during the fracas.

On Wednesday night, he posted online that he "was simply there as an independent member of the media to film history".

Back in his home state, fellow lawmakers have called for his access to the state Capitol building to be restricted.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, has called for President Donald Trump to be "immediately" removed from office.

"What happened at the US Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer," he said in a statement.

He added that Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows for a transfer of power from the president to the vice-president.

"If the vice-president and the cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” he said.

Schumer is one of the most high-profile names to call for Trump to be removed over the incident, but he's not the only one.

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman for Illinois, has also called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, external.

You can read more about how the 25th Amendment works here.

Image source, AFP

Many media outlets around the world have been quick to give their verdict of the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

China's state-run Global Times suggested it had destroyed the US's "global image" while Iran's Nour News said it showed the "reality of Western liberal democracy".

Meanwhile, France's Le Figaro said Trumpism "as a policy and a style" would remain.

Watch this short video for more reaction:

A Capitol police employee who was involved in the fatal shooting of a woman during yesterday's unrest has been suspended.

In a statement released on Thursday, US Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Steven A Sund said his officers "and our law enforcement partners responded valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions".

"The violent attack on the US Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 20 years in law enforcement here in Washington DC," Sund said and pledged a "throrough review" of the incident, as well as the USPC response.

A member of the force fired a shot as protesters forced their way towards the House chamber, "where members of Congress were sheltering", he added. The woman who was hit by the bullet later died in hospital and has been named as Ashli Babbitt.

The employee now faces a joint investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department and the USCP.

The USCP also confirmed that two pipe bombs found in the area while the Capitol was being attacked were both dangerous and could have caused "great harm to public safety". The devices were disabled and are being investigated by the FBI.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Resigning in protest from a job that ends in less than two weeks is not much of a profile in courage.

A growing number of Trump administration staffers and officials, however, have decided to take that symbolic step.

On Wednesday night, Melania Trump’s chief of staff and a White House deputy press secretary quit. Mick Mulvaney, the president’s former acting chief of staff and budget director, stepped down on Thursday from his role as special envoy to Northern Ireland.

There has been a flurry of rumours about higher-level departures, even cabinet secretaries, but none have yet come to fruition.

It was Mulvaney who, three days after the presidential election in November, penned a Wall Street Journal column about how Donald Trump would “gracefully” depart the White House if he lost.

“I have every expectation that Mr Trump will be, act and speak like a great president should," he wrote.

Two months later, after the president continued to dispute his election defeat and encourage his supporters to “be strong” and confront lawmakers who did not back his claims, the man who had worked in the Trump administration since February 2017 had finally seen enough.

Image source, Getty Images

Workers in Congress have been credited with saving the Electoral College ballots during yesterday's riots on Capitol Hill.

As lawmakers meeting to certify Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election were evacuated from the building, "a quick-thinking" member of staff picked up the ceremonial boxes containing the votes, according to Senator Tammy Duckworth, external.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, external said staffers had "rescued" the ballots, adding he believed the rioters would have destroyed them "if our capable floor staff hadn't grabbed them".

The boxes form a key part of the certification process and are given to the vice-president, who then confirms the next president.

Lawmakers were able to resume the joint session once the building was cleared of rioters. Biden's inauguration is set to take place on 20 January.