US Capitol building stormed

Capitol Police told lawmakers in the House to take cover on the floor and prepare to use gas masks after tear gas was dispersed in the Capitol Rotunda.

Demonstrators moved into the second-floor lobby just outside the Senate chamber, and police placed themselves in front of the chamber doors.

Shortly later, police escorted senators and members of the House from the building to others nearby, as the protesters continued to swarm hallways just steps from where lawmakers were meeting.

Armed security officials in the emptied Senate chamber stood at an entrance door with their guns aimed at a door window.

Demonstrators used rope to climb the west wall of the Capitol building.

Smoke grenades were used on the Senate side of the Capitol. Windows on the west side of the Senate were broken.

Live television showed demonstrators fighting inside with Capitol Police. Other live video showed people breaking windows and doors in an attempt to get into the building.

Photos of those who got inside showed one person in the chair of Pelosi's desk; another demonstrator took to the dais of the Senate to declare his support for Trump.

"This is what you've gotten, guys," Utah Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, reportedly yelled as the chaos unfolded in the Senate chamber, an apparent reference to colleagues who were leading the day's effort to object to some states' votes in the Electoral College.

"This is what the president has caused today, this insurrection," Romney said later, according to The New York Times.