Hundreds of pro-President Donald Trump protesters invaded the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday in an insurrectionary climate, interrupting the session of Congress that was to confirm Joe Biden's victory.
In a serious speech, the next Democratic president denounced an "unprecedented" attack on American democracy.
He called on Donald Trump to speak “immediately” on television to demand “the end of the siege” of the Capitol and denounce this “insurgency”.
In a series of tweets, Donald Trump asked his supporters to steer clear of the violence, before finally asking them, in a short video, to "go home".
National Guard personnel have been dispatched to Washington where Mayor Muriel Bowser has imposed a curfew starting at 6:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. GMT).
"We are taking over the House," "this is our parliament," an anonymous protester told AFP, in scenes of chaos that seemed unimaginable within the world's leading power.