The demonstrators used a metal trolley to break into the Hong Kong Legislative Council building after a standoff with riot police on Monday afternoon, smashing windows and eventually entering the building.

Police tried unsuccessfully to push back the demonstrators, but were forced to either retreat somewhere inside the council building or abandon it altogether as protesters streamed in.

Inside the chamber, demonstrators tore down portraits of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping. The dissidents also scrawled political slogans across everything in sight, walls and floors included.

Some protesters tied a British colonial flag to a podium in the parliament.

Hong Kong officials have issued a ‘Red Alert,’ ordering all personnel to evacuate the structure, though it is not clear whether police are still in the building.

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