US Capitol building stormed

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington declared a citywide curfew from 6 pm Wednesday to 6 am Thursday morning.

The Army activated the entire District of Columbia National Guard — 1,100 troops — in response to a request from Bowser. The nearby states of Maryland and Virginia said they were sending additional National Guard troops and state police to help local police struggling with the protesters.

There were reports that Trump had activated National Guard troops. FBI agents were dispatched to help the Metropolitan Police Department that tried to clear the buildings' steps of protesters.

As the 6 pm curfew approached, scores of Metropolitan Police in full riot gear moved in and cleared the Capitol steps of protesters. They encountered no resistance as they pushed them off the grounds.

Former president Barack Obama accused Trump and Republicans of perpetuating a "fantasy narrative" about the November election that led to Wednesday's violence at the Capitol.

"History will rightly remember today's violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise," Obama said in a statement.