President-elect Joe Biden denounced the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday as the violent expression of President Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat, calling it “an assault on the citadel of liberty” and saying the president had stoked the mob with his brazen and false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen.

In direct, forceful language, Biden called the scenes of chaos in the halls of Congress “a dark moment” in the nation’s history, appealed for calm, and made clear that he held Trump accountable for instigating violence that left members of both parties and allies around the world appalled. “At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite,” Biden said.

“This is not dissent,” the president-elect said in remarks from Delaware as scenes of the armed takeover of the Capitol played out on television screens. “It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now.”

President-elect Joe Biden denounced the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday as the violent expression of President Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat, calling it “an assault on the citadel of liberty” and saying the president had stoked the mob with his brazen and false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen.

In direct, forceful language, Biden called the scenes of chaos in the halls of Congress “a dark moment” in the nation’s history, appealed for calm, and made clear that he held Trump accountable for instigating violence that left members of both parties and allies around the world appalled. “At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite,” Biden said.

“This is not dissent,” the president-elect said in remarks from Delaware as scenes of the armed takeover of the Capitol played out on television screens. “It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now.”