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WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence ordered that demonstrators’ violence “must stop now” in what has become an occupation by President Donald Trump’s supporters who are seeking to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

“The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now,” wrote Pence. “Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building.

Trump earlier encouraged his supporters occupying the U.S. Capitol to “remain peaceful,” but he did not call for them to disperse. He held a rally earlier Wednesday in which he repeated his false claims that President-elect Joe Biden had won the election through voter fraud.

“Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” added Pence.

One person has been shot at the U.S. Capitol as dozens of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building and violently clashed with police.

That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity amid a chaotic situation.

The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting were unclear. The person said the victim had been taken to a hospital. Their condition was not known.

Earlier Wednesday, defying President Trump, Vice President Pence said he doesn’t have the power to discard electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president on Jan. 20.

That’s what Pence said in a statement issued minutes before he was to begin presiding over a joint session of Congress to count those votes.

Pence says it is “my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”

In the days before the joint session, Trump has pressured his vice president to toss electors from battleground states that voted for Biden.