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After the elections, fear of violence increased in the United States. In front of several counting sites in key disputed states, Trump supporters met Thursday and Friday, prompted by the US president, who had called for the counts to be stopped. Several officials expressed concern.
“My wife and mother are very concerned about me,” said Joe Gloria, an official from Clark Country, Nevada, the district where Las Vegas is located. However, he and the rest of the staff would not fail to do their duty and count the votes.
Katie Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state, told CNN that her biggest concern is the safety of her employees. The protesters, partly violent, would ensure that the vote count would be delayed. They stopped poll workers from simply doing their job. But he also pointed out that the assistants would be protected by security guards.
Open weapons
On Thursday, about a hundred Trump supporters had gathered outside the Maricopa County Electoral Center in Phoenix, several of them carrying rifles and pistols. This is legal in Arizona. Those responsible erected fences around the center, but the entrance to the building remained open. Shouts like “Four more years!” They came from the crowd.
Also in Atlanta, about a hundred Trump supporters gathered outside the State Farm area, where the counts are taking place. Police officers observed the scene. One of the protesters said he was convinced Trump won the election.
“This is clearly electoral fraud of the largest, democratically dominated cities,” he said. Atlanta is one of them. “Our democracy is under attack,” he continued, his statements were very similar to Donald Trump’s messages. “We are about to lose the United States because we are losing a fair election in this country.”
In fact, so far there has been no serious evidence of voter fraud. It is quite common in American history for the vote count to take several days. The OSCE’s international election observers also found no violations.
However, dozens of Trump supporters also gathered in Detroit and Philadelphia in front of the buildings where the vote counting is taking place. Protesters chanted slogans like “Stop the Steal,” a reference to Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that his election was stolen. Some had red signs that read “Make Elections Fair Again.” The message draws heavily on Trump’s long-used catchphrase, “Make America Great Again.”
In Philadelphia, police arrested two men carrying firearms near the convention center without permission on Thursday.
Biden: “No one will take away our democracy”
In many places, the groups are still manageable and do not cause direct violence. However, officials expressed concern over repeated and unfounded allegations of election manipulation by Trump and his campaign team. Many appear to fear that the mood in the divided country may change further and that there may be violent protests from supporters or opponents of the president.
Trump again came forward as the victim of systematic voter fraud during a White House appearance Thursday night, without providing any evidence for his claims. Later, several American television stations interrupted its live broadcast.
Trump’s eldest son also warmed up the mood and called for a “total war” against alleged electoral fraud. It was time to “clean up and stop looking like a banana republic,” he tweeted. The online service provided the short message with a warning.
Joe Biden, for his part, asked for calm. He wrote on Twitter: “No one will take away our democracy.” According to the Washington Post, the Secret Service plans to tighten security for the 77-year-old.
