UPDATE - Washington, D.C. riots spread to other US states

ADDS UNREST IN OTHER STATES

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - US President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Kansas Statehouse and the Georgia Capitol on Wednesday after breaching the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Protestors were moving inside the first floor of Topeka's capitol rotunda, FOX4 News reported, citing eyewitnesses.

Capitol police took their place in the building and protestors are remaining peaceful at this time, according to the TV channel.

Separately, alleged militia members gathered outside the Georgia Capitol, and State Secretary Brad Raffensperger along with senior staff have been evacuated, according to Washington Post reporter Amy Gardner.

Similar protests have been seen in New Mexico, where police reportedly evacuated staff from a Statehouse building as a precaution shortly after hundreds of protestors gathered in front of the building.

Videos on social media showed that security forces also intervened to disband Trump supporters and protesters near the Capitol building in Salem, Oregon.

Meanwhile, in Denver, Colorado, Mayor Michael Hancock ordered the closure of municipal buildings.

"With the activities around the country and approximately 700 individuals downtown who have gathered at the State Capitol, out of an abundance of caution, I have instructed city agencies to close municipal buildings early," Hancock said on Twitter.

The US Senate recessed an Electoral College debate after hundreds of angry protestors stormed the Washington, D.C. Capitol building, forcing a lockdown by police. A woman who was shot apparently in the chest at the Capitol building during a mass riot has died.

Washington, D.C. residents received emergency phone calls Wednesday warning them that Mayor Muriel Bowser has enacted a citywide curfew beginning at 6 p.m. and extending for 12 hours.

The incident happened an hour after Vice President Mike Pence announced that he rejected Trump's demand that he interfere in Congress's counting of Electoral College votes.

The largely pro forma meeting will eventually declare President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential contest, although it will be significantly dragged out as some Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have raised objections.

Trump took to his favorite medium to express disappointment with his vice president's decision, but he later called on protestors to stay peaceful and urged them to "go home now."