'It's insurrection,' says Biden, as Trump supporters storm US Capitol

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden has urged Donald Trump to go on national television to "demand an end to this siege", as hundreds of protesters stormed the building on Wednesday (Jan 6).

With drawn guns and tear gas, police sought to clear the building as protesters sought to force Congress to undo Trump's election loss as lawmakers convened to certify Biden's victory.

Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate were evacuated after pro-Trump protesters surged through the halls of Congress, forcing both chambers to suspend deliberations.

READ: Guns and tear gas in US Capitol as Trump supporters attempt to overturn his loss

Biden, a Democrat who defeated the Republican president in the Nov 3 election and is due to take office on Jan 20, said the activity of the protesters "borders on sedition".

The former vice president said that for demonstrators to storm the Capitol, smash windows, occupy offices, invade the halls of Congress and threaten the safety of duly elected officials that "it's not a protest, it's insurrection".

"I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward," Biden added, urging Trump to go on national television to demand "an end to this siege".

In a video posted to Twitter, Trump repeated his false claims about election fraud but urged the protesters to leave.

"You have to go home now, we have to have peace," he said.

READ: Donald Trump tells supporters to 'go home' after storming of US Capitol

Videos showed protesters breaking windows and police deploying teargas inside the building. Local media reported that one person had been shot and video showed a person being wheeled from the building on a stretcher.

Vice President Mike Pence, who had presided over the joint session of Congress, had already been escorted from the Senate.

The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of protesters, repeating unfounded claims that the contest was stolen from him due to widespread election fraud and irregularities. 

Lawmakers had been debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, an effort that was unlikely to succeed.

Critics had called the effort by the Republican lawmakers an attack on American democracy and the rule of law and an attempted legislative coup.

The top two Democrats in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to demand that all the protesters leave the Capitol and its grounds immediately.

Capitol Police told lawmakers in the House chamber to take gas masks from beneath their seats and prepare to put them on. Officers at the front door of the House chamber had their guns drawn as someone attempted to enter the chamber.

Officers ordered people in the chamber to drop to the floor for their safety. Several hundred House members, staff and press were evacuated to an undisclosed location and were told not to leave.

Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the Nov. 3 contest, which Biden won by more than 7 million votes in the national popular vote.