Melania Trump's Chief of Staff and another key Trump aide resign over Capitol riots

The violent riots in Washington D.C. have led to a number of resignations in the White House, including first lady Melania Trump's Chief of Staff Stephanie Grisham.

Grisham resigned from her post on Wednesday hours after violent rioters breached the Capitol building when lawmakers were in the middle of certifying President-elect Joe Biden's win in the recent elections. In a tweet announcing her decision, the former White House press secretary said: "It has been an honor to serve the country in the @WhiteHouse. I am very proud to have been a part of @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP mission to help children everywhere, & proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration."

Grisham has been working for the Trumps prior to their entry into the Oval Office. She first worked on outgoing President Donald Trump's campaign trail back in 2015, and was hired by Melania Trump two years later as her communication director. She was appointed White House communications director and press secretary in 2019. She was promoted as Melania's chief of staff in April last year after Kayleigh McEnany took over as press secretary.

Grisham is not the only key aide of the Trump administration who has resigned after the riots in the Capitol, which also claimed the life of a woman who was accidentally shot. White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews expressed disapproval of the protests by MAGA fans while announcing her resignation on Wednesday night.

"As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. I'll be stepping down from my rope, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power," Matthews said in a statement obtained by Fox News, adding, "I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted."

Both Grisham's and Matthews' resignations are effective immediately.

Outgoing President Donald Trump, who refused to accept his loss in the presidential elections, had reacted to the riots in a video telling his supporters they are "very special" while noting, "we have to have peace, so go home." The video prompted all social media platforms to suspend his accounts.

Facebook blocked the 74-year-old from posting for 24 hours, while Twitter locked his account for 12 hours, requiring the removal of three of his recent tweets "for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy."

In a statement on Wednesday, Twitter said: "As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."

Twitter added that further violations of its policies "will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account."

Instagram has also locked Trump's account for 24 hours, as its head Adam Mosseri revealed on Twitter. He wrote: "We are locking President Trump's Instagram account for 24 hours as well."