Washington riot: New footage shows Donald Trump supporters rummaging through senators' desks during siege

Dramatic new footage has emerged from last week's riot at the US Capitol showing supporters of President Donald Trump inside the Senate rummaging through the desks of senators.

The video, which was released on Sunday (local time), shows a splinter group of the mob entering the Senate chamber and searching through senators' desks.

"Get a snap of that, get a picture," one person is heard saying.

"This is good stuff," another says.

The rioters took the senators' documents, with one saying "there's got to be something in there we can use against these scumbags". Others left notes that said, "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming".

The riots have left US Defense officials worried there'll be an 'inside' attack at President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration this week, so they will have all 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington DC vetted.

A maze of fences and barriers surround a vast area of the centre of the city, which is closed off until after the inauguration.

There are troops and trucks on nearly every corner and flashing police lights are at every turn - even dump trucks are being used as roadblocks. The streets are deserted and shops and office buildings are boarded up.

"There is a great deal of very concerning chatter and it's what you don't know that we are preparing for," Secret Service Special Agent Matt Miller says.

But it's not just Washington DC - it's a similar story in all 50 state capitals. Shops are boarded up and authorities are braced more for conflict than celebration.

"This is what you plan for, prepare for, get ready for, and I believe we're ready," mayor of Austin, Texas Steve Adler says.

Biden is expected to deliver a unifying call to a fractured nation in his inaugural address before issuing a flurry of executive orders that overturn Trump's most controversial decisions. They include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, scrapping the ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries, and halting evictions as the health crisis continues. 

"I have always said that the Biden-Harris Administration is going to lead with science and truth," the President-elect said on Saturday.