The storming of US Capitol Building by pro-Trump supporters has shocked the nation with blame being directed to President Donald Trump who addressed his supporters at the Save American rally prior to the incident.

Throngs of Trump supporters broke through police lines, entering the Captol, ransacking parts of the building as lawmakers and staff makers hid under tables, praying as guns were drawn, glass shattered and a Trump flag hung on the Capitol.

News of the death of one woman shot during the riots has been confirmed by CNN whereas local media reports of four others who died – including a police officer – after suffering from “medical emergencies”.

There are increasing calls for the removal of President Trump from office in the wake of the riots.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the dismissal of US Capitol Police Chief Steven A Sund, prior to his resignation with his last day being 16 January.

The Greek community of America was quick to take a stance following the riots, with retired former NATO allied supreme commander Admiral James Stavridis telling those who stormed the building to wave the American flag, and not that of a single individual in an interview with MSNBC.

READ MORE: Greek PM’s statement as pro-Trump supporters storm US Capitol

In a Tweet, he sent out the reminder that President Trump had “promised demonstrators who damaged any Federal Building would get a minimum of ten years in prison”, calling for perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association (AHEPA) condemned the violence with AHEPA’s Supreme President George G. Horiates issuing a statement:

Our members are proud the ancient Greeks forged the notion of democracy. The ancients believed in the right of self-governance, which is the very foundation of our great nation as adopted by our Founding Fathers.

During our nearly 100-year history, Ahepans have witnessed many trying events and fought and sacrificed in wars to protect liberty and democratic ideals.

The violence perpetrated by today’s rioters at the U.S. Capitol is condemnable, disgusting, and appalling to all who respect and value democratic ideals and institutions and the peaceful transfer of power that is fundamental to democracy.

We urge law and order to be restored, the situation to be resolved peacefully, and for those responsible to be held accountable so that the election certification process and peaceful transition of power can be completed, as it must be.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), based in Chicago, issued a statement against the riots.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) joins the ranks of Americans of good conscience who have spoken out against the violent riots and attacks on Congress perpetrated yesterday.

We are appalled that the President of the United States openly instigated yesterday’s incidents, encouraged the anger and conspiracies that led to the violence, and made only half-hearted attempts to defuse tensions and safeguard American democracy and American lives.

On 11 September, 2001, the heroes of Flight 93 gave their lives and prevented Al Qaeda from flying the jet into the U.S. Capitol. That evening, the US Congress – Senators and Representatives, Republicans and Democrats – stood united on the steps of the Capitol, gave voice to their resolve, and sang “God Bless America.” That those scenes of unity and resolve at this altar of American democracy were replaced with scenes of violence, anarchy and disdain for democracy make January 6, 2021 a day of infamy in American history.

Let us be clear, while we join the ranks of those condemning the attacks on American democracy, our condemnation is not limited to what we witnessed yesterday.

Over the last several years, American democracy has been threatened by conspiracy theories, normalization of behavior and ideologies that belong in the ash heap of history, and levels of complicity and cowardice that are unworthy of America.

As we learned that the woman who was shot dead yesterday was a QAnon adherent, we recall that four years ago Edgar Maddison Welch drove 360 miles from North Carolina to Washington, D.C. with three loaded guns – a 9-mm AR-15 rifle, a six-shot .38-caliber Colt revolver, and a shotgun. His target was Comet Ping Pong pizzeria, a place that Welch and others had delusively identified as central to a fictitious child abuse network.

Less than one year later, self-identified members of the alt-right, neo-Nazis and white supremacists paraded through Charlottesville, Virginia – carrying the Nazi flag, the Confederate flag, torches, and yelling racist and antisemitic chants. One of them used his car as a ram against counter protesters, killing one and injuring 35. President Trump responded by declaring that there were “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville.

This past October, the FBI announced the arrests of 13 suspects accused of involvement in a domestic terror plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and attempt to violently overthrow the government of Michigan. Instead of condemning these domestic terrorists and their ideology, President Trump attacked Governor Whitmer on Twitter.

And just last month, the disgraced but pardoned Michael Flynn – who has still not been held to account for being an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey – took to the airwaves to speculate about President Trump imposing martial law and invalidating November’s election. We are still waiting for President Trump to disavow these dangerous musings.

Yesterday’s outrage was the culmination of four years of appeals to the worst instincts in Americans. Once again, outrageous rhetoric was accompanied by violence. While several members of Congress finally realized the dangerousness of indulging conspiratorial movements and undermining our democratic tradition of a peaceful and orderly transition of power, we regret that 147 members of Congress – even after the trauma caused by yesterday’s attempted coup – continued to enable those that would falsely and disingenuously attack American democracy merely to cater to a portion of the electorate.

Ultimately, American democracy held. Some Republican members of Congress belatedly realized that they had to openly defy Trump, and they did. Federal judges across America demonstrated that their loyalty lies to the U.S. Constitution, not to the individual that appointed them. Republican state officials courageously faced down political threats and threats of violence to protect the integrity of one of our most sacred institutions – our elections.

Democracy, however, by definition requires more from the people. Unity will not result merely from us willing it. We will increase our public education programs, our civic activism, and undertake more voter registration and voter protection initiatives than we ever have.

We will encourage dialogue and debate, while vigorously challenging baseless conspiracy theories. We will condemn those who – like some of yesterday’s protesters – introduce neo-Nazi symbols and t-shirts with 6MWE (“6 Million [Jews] Weren’t Enough”) into American public discourse. Finally, we will hold our commitment to the rule of law front and center and will hold public figures accountable on this front.

The road back is not a short one, and it is not the responsibility of a single Administration or a single Congress. As Odysseus Elytis wrote in “The Axion Esti”: για να γυρίσει ο ήλιος θέλει δουλειά πολλή/For the sun to turn it takes a lot of work.

We are ready for the work.

READ MORE: A Greek American immigrant’s tale from ‘The Godfather’ to Donald Trump

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America called for prayer. “Let us pray for a united United States.  Let us pray for peace and reconciliation. We are a democracy, and adhering to the will of the people ensures ‘one Nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.’,” he Tweeted.

Australia’s Ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, retweeted the Embassy’s warnings concerning the curfew in response to disorder and advised Australians to avoid the area.