Vice President Mike Pence says the violence must end after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol.
“The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now,” Pence tweeted.
“Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building,” he added.
In a second post, Pence said: “Those involved would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Pence was earlier presiding over a joint Congress session to certify the results of the November presidential election.
He had defied Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss, saying he could not claim “unilateral authority” to reject the electoral votes of states that Biden won.
Trump lashed out at Pence afterwards, tweeting that he “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
Similarly, US President-elect Joe Biden has said the chaos at the US Capitol “borders on sedition and it must end now.”
Meanwhile, the mayor of the US capital, Muriel Bowser, has issued a 6pm curfew after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building.
“Today, I’m ordering a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, until 6am on Thursday, January 7,” Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on Twitter.
dpa/NAN.
