Donald Trump has urged his supporters in Washington to "stay peaceful" as protesters from the 'Save America March' storm the US Capitol building.

Protesters clashed with police officers and breached the building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress inside. As reported by ABC News and CNBC, the Senate has been forced to recess after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.

Trump has since tweeted: "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

In a follow-up tweet, the outgoing president wrote:

"I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"

The New York Times has reported in the last hour that police officers have been forced to draw their guns inside the House chambers.

CNBC states: "Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate as the U.S. Capitol Complex went into lockdown."

US Capitol Police have since told those still inside the building: "If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover."

Additionally, the Senate chamber was also evacuated and lawmakers have been instructed to stay away from exterior doors and windows.

According to the outlet, lawmakers had just started the procedural process of counting the Electoral College votes in order to formally declare President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election.

"This is what the president has caused today, this insurrection," Mitt Romney has reportedly said of the breach, per the New York Times.

This comes after the outgoing US President Donald Trump revved-up his supporters at a rally near the White House, telling them: "We will never concede".

Speaking prior to Congress assembling to count the electoral votes and officially certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Trump urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, and even told the crowd "I'll be with you".

Trump Supporters gathered in the US Capitol for the 'Save America March' have clashed with police officers and breached the building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress inside.

As reported by ABC News and CNBC, the Senate has been forced to recess after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.

ABC News states that protesters pushed through barricades and officiers in riot gear in order to breach the building. Once inside, they waved "Trump 2020" flags, chanted, and moved freely - with many reportedly not wearing face coverings.

CNBC states: "Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate as the U.S. Capitol Complex went into lockdown."

US Capitol Police have since told those still inside the building: "If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover."

Additionally, the Senate chamber was also evacuated and lawmakers have been instructed to stay away from exterior doors and windows.

According to the outlet, lawmakers had just started the procedural process of counting the Electoral College votes in order to formally declare President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election.

Trump has since tweeted: "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

This comes after the outgoing US President Donald Trump revved-up his supporters at a rally near the White House, telling them: "We will never concede".

Speaking prior to Congress assembling to count the electoral votes and officially certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Trump urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, and even told the crowd "I'll be with you".

Addressing the crowd at the 'Save America March', Trump once again continued falsely claim that the presidential election was rigged, that Biden did not win, and that Vice President Mike Pence can change the outcome of the election.

As reported by CBS News, Trump said: "I hope Mike is going to do the right thing, I hope so. I hope so. Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."

He added: "[Pence] has the absolute right to do it. We're supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution, and protect our Constitution."

However, as reported by The Independent, Mike Pence instead declared in a letter to members of Congress: "It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrained me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."

Additionally, Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell stated that the presidential election was "not actually particularly close" and that if the challenge by the president’s allies were successful it "would damage our republic forever".

At the rally, Trump also stated that he would "never concede", telling cheering supporters: "We will never give up. We will never concede.

"That doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved."

Trump also used his speech to attack the mainstream media, telling the crowd: "Our media is not free. It’s not fair. It suppresses thought. It suppresses speech. It’s become the enemy of the people," Trump said.

"It’s the biggest problem we have in this country."

The POTUS then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, CBS reports, and even told the crowd: "I'll be with you".

Concluding his speech, Trump said: "Today is not the end — it’s just the beginning,"

As Trump supporters and protesters breach the US Capitol, people have called on Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment.

Following an address from President Trump, protesters clashed with police officers and breached the Capitol building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress inside. As reported by ABC News and CNBC, the Senate has been forced to recess after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.

Amid the chaos, CNBC also states: "Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate as the U.S. Capitol Complex went into lockdown."

In response, Vice President Mike Pence has taken to Twitter to say: "The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now. Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building."

People are now taking to social media to call for VP Pence to invoke the 25th amendment:

Congressman Seth Moulton tweeted this evening: "Trump is directly responsible for this insurrection and violence. He needs to be removed from office immediately. It is the Constitutional responsibility of Vice President Pence and the cabinet to exercise the power granted them by the 25th amendment."

Actor Tim Matheson wrote: "A real Vice President and real Cabinet members would invoke the 25th Amendment, and Mike Pence would become acting President immediately to calm the unrest caused by the soon to be Ex-President."

Director Bill Kristol added: "This is a good statement. Now go to the Oval Office and tell the President this to his face. And tell him if he continues to tolerate an insurrection he has encouraged, you will seek to invoke the 25th amendment."

Per New York Magazine:

"More than 50 years ago, the framers of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution foresaw the possibility of a president’s behavior becoming so unstable that it would prove necessary to have some constitutional mechanism to remove him immediately from office.

"Section Four of that amendment provides a process for doing so: If the vice-president and the majority of the Cabinet decide that, for whatever reason, the president has become unfit to carry out the powers and duties of the office and they transmit a letter to Congress to that effect, then the vice-president becomes the acting president and remains so unless and until Congress refuses to allow that transfer of power to stand."

Earlier this evening, Trump slammed Pence for refusing to intervene on the election results.

Per The Independent, Mike Pence instead declared in a letter to members of Congress: "It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrained me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."

In response, Trump tweeted: "Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"

The call comes after the outgoing US President Donald Trump revved-up his supporters at a rally near the White House, telling them: "We will never concede".

Speaking prior to Congress assembling to count the electoral votes and officially certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Trump urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, and even told the crowd "I'll be with you".

Trump has also taken to Twitter to call for peace in an attempt to calm the protesters.

"Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

In a follow-up tweet, the outgoing president wrote: "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"

President Trump has returned to Twitter to condemn the Capitol riots and commit to an "orderly" transition of power.

This comes after Brian Sicknick, an officer at the US Capitol Police (USCP), died after "injured while physically engaging with protesters", the BBC reports.

Trump returned to Twitter on Thursday (January 7) after his account was frozen for 12 hours to issue the closest thing he has written to a formal message of defeat.

"Now Congress has certified the results a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th," he said in a video, without mentioning Biden by name.

"My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation."

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Vice-President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment, which would declare Trump unfit to remain in office - or begin the process of impeachment.

Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged Trump's cabinet to remove him for "his incitement of insurrection".

"The President's dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office," they said in a joint statement cited by the BBC.

The pair called for the enactment of the 25th amendment which enables the Vice President to take up power if the president is unable to carry out their duties as a result of mental or physical illness.

However, the amendment requires Pence and at least eight cabinet members to break with Trump to invoke.

Pelosi implied that if Pence failed to enact the amendment, she would convene the House to begin their second impeachment proceedings against Trump.

However, the Democrats would require a majority of two-thirds in the Senate to remove Trump in this way, and there is no evidence to suggest that such numbers would be obtained, or if there is even enough time to impeach Trump in this way.

As per the BBC, it has been reported that Trump is considering pardoning himself prior to departing office, however, the legality of such a move is unknown.

US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency in Washington, D.C., following last week's riot in the Capitol Building.

The announcement comes a little over a week ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.

On Wednesday, January 6, a mob of pro-Trump protestors stormed the Capitol Building and interrupted the Electoral College's affirmation of Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Once inside, the protestors clashed with riot police. Journalists and politicians were evacuated and Congress was suspended until order could be restored. A total of five people have died as a result of the violence that erupted, as of the time of writing.

Recognizing the clear and present danger of another such incident, Mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser wrote to acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Sunday, January 10.

Per Politico, Bowser urged the administration to recognize a pre-disaster declaration in the city in preparation for Inauguration Day, and now the DHS has announced it will be extending the Secret Service’s National Special Security Event.

However, with Democrats and Republicans alike now expressing concern about a similar security breach occurring on January 20, Trump has decided to beef up security protocols.

Trump has now declared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia himself, which will extend from January 11 to January 24, 2021.

Per an official White House press statement released to the public on Monday, January 11:

"The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population...

"Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.

"Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 100 percent Federal funding. [sic]"

Trump himself, who has been widely condemned for appearing to incite the mob in a speech made to the crowd prior to the riot, has recently promised an "orderly transition" of power on Biden's inauguration date.

Per CNN, in an official statement regarding the certification of Biden's victory after Congress had resumed, Trump said:

"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."

Joe Biden has called for peace in the Capitol and called out Donald Trump, telling the outgoing president to "demand an end to this siege".

As protesters clash with police officers and breach the Capitol building - forcing a lockdown with members of Congress inside - The US President-elect has delivered a national address.

In an address from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden says: "At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times"

He adds: "The words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad that president is".

Biden also added that he is saddened at the violent demonstrations, stating: "This is not dissent, it's disorder."

"It’s not a protest; it’s insurrection. The world is watching."

In a series of follow-up tweets, Biden wrote: "Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not represent who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it's disorder. It borders on sedition, and it must end. Now.

"I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution by demanding an end to this siege.

"America is so much better than what we’re seeing today."

In response to the riots, Trump has since tweeted: "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

In a follow-up tweet, the outgoing president wrote:

"I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"

As reported by ABC News and CNBC, the Senate has been forced to recess after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.

CNBC states: "Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate as the U.S. Capitol Complex went into lockdown."

US Capitol Police have since told those still inside the building: "If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover."

Additionally, the Senate chamber was also evacuated and lawmakers have been instructed to stay away from exterior doors and windows.

The New York Times has reported in the last hour that police officers have been forced to draw their guns inside the House chambers.