'YOU DID NOT WIN'

WASHINGTON: Hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol yesterday in a stunning bid to overturn his election defeat.

They battled police and security in the hallways and delayed the certification of Democratic Presidentelect Joe Biden’s victory for hours.

In the gravest assault on the symbol of American democracy in more than 200 years, rioters forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol.

Police said four people died during the chaos — one from gunshot wounds and three from medical emergencies — and 52 people were arrested.

Some besieged the House of Representatives chamber while politicians were inside, banging on its doors and forcing suspension of the certification debate.

Security officers piled furniture against the chamber’s door and drew pistols before helping politicians and others escape.

Hours later, both houses of Congress resumed their work on certifying Mr Biden’s Electoral College win.

It quickly became clear that objections from proTrump Republican politicians to Mr Biden’s victory in battleground states would be rejected overwhelmingly, including by most Republicans.

‘‘To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today you did not win,’’ Vicepresident Mike Pence, who presided over the session, said as it resumed.

‘‘Let’s get back to work,’’ he said, drawing applause.

Late last night, Mr Trump publicly acknowledged for the first time that he would leave office on January 20, pledging an orderly transfer of power.

‘‘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,’’ Mr

Trump said in the statement, repeating false claims he has made throughout the last two months.

‘‘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.’’

Police struggled for more than three hours after the invasion yesterday to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters before declaring the building secure. The assault on the Capitol was the culmination of months of divisive and escalating rhetoric around the November 3 election, where Mr Trump repeatedly made false claims that the vote was rigged and urged his supporters to help him overturn his loss.

The chaos unfolded after Mr Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of supporters near the White House and told them to march on the Capitol to express their anger at the voting process.

He told his supporters to pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them ‘‘to fight’’.

Mr Trump came under intensive fire from some prominent Republicans in Congress, who put the blame for the day’s violence squarely on his shoulders.

‘‘There is no question that the President formed the mob, the President incited the mob, the President addressed the mob. He lit the flame,’’ House Republican Conference chairwoman Liz Cheney said on Twitter.

Republican senator Tom Cotton, a leading conservative from Arkansas, called on Mr Trump to accept his election loss and ‘‘quit misleading the American people and repudiate mob violence.’’

A source said there had been discussions among some Cabinet members and Trump allies about invoking the 25th Amendment, which would allow a majority of the Cabinet to declare Mr Trump unable to perform his duties, making Mr Pence the acting president.

A second source doubted it would go anywhere.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who had remained silent while Mr Trump has sought to overturn the election result, called the invasion a ``failed insurrection'' and promised that ``we will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation.’’

‘‘We are back in our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution, and for our nation. And we are going to do it tonight,'' Mr McConnell said.

The shock of the assault on the Capitol seemed to soften the resolve of some Republicans who had supported Mr Trump’s efforts to convince Americans of his baseless claims of fraud.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham, one of Mr Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, rejected an effort by his fellow Republicans to object to election results in hopes of setting up a commission to investigate Mr Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.

‘‘All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,'' Mr Graham said on the floor of the Senate.

``Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and the vicepresident of the United States on January 20.’’

The Senate rejected by a 936 vote Republican objections to the certification of Mr Biden’s victory in the battleground state of Arizona, ensuring their defeat.

The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, also rejected the move by a 303121 vote.

The Senate also rejected an objection to the certification in Pennsylvania on a 927 vote.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew starting at 6pm.

National Guard troops, FBI agents and US Secret Service were deployed to help overwhelmed Capitol police.

Guard troops and police pushed protesters away from the Capitol after the curfew took effect.

It was the most damaging attack on the historic building since the British army burned it in 1814, according to the US Capitol Historical Society.

Mr Biden said the activity of the protesters ``borders on sedition’’.

In a video posted to Twitter while the rioters roamed the Capitol, Mr 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, adding: ``We love you. You’re very special.’’

Twitter later restricted users from retweeting Mr Trump’s video, and Facebook took it down entirely, citing the risk of violence.

Twitter said later it had locked the account of Mr Trump for 12 hours over ``repeated and severe violations'' of the social media platforms ``civic integrity'' rules and threatened permanent suspension.

Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the November 3 contest, in which Mr Biden won seven million more votes than Mr Trump.

Weeks have passed since the states completed certifying that Mr Biden won in the Electoral College, which decides presidential elections, by a 306232 vote.

Mr Trump’s challenges to Mr Biden’s victory have been rejected by courts across the country. — Reuters