Fervent supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his false claim of a stolen election and crowded into his caravan as he swerved for a vehicle on his way out of town.
“I just want to keep up my spirits and let him know that we support him,” said a loyalist, Anthony Whittaker of Winchester, Virginia, from outside the Supreme Court, where a few thousand gathered after a march down Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza. near the White House.
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A week after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, rallies in support of Trump were held in other cities. Fury at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating, following the hint of the president’s relentless claim of victory in a race he actually lost.
A broad coalition of senior government and industry officials has stated that the November 3 vote and the following recount proceeded without any more problems than the usual minor setbacks: “the safest in American history,” they said, repudiating Trump’s efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest.
In Delray Beach, Florida, several hundred people marched, some holding signs that read “Every Vote Counts” and “We Can’t Live Under Marxist Government.” In Lansing, Michigan, protesters gathered on Capitol Hill to hear speakers question the results that showed Biden winning the state by more than 140,000 votes. Phoenix police estimated 1,500 people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to protest Biden’s narrow victory in the state.
Crowds in Washington were beginning to gather Saturday morning when cheers rang out as Trump’s limo approached Freedom Plaza. People lined up on both sides of the street, some standing just yards from Trump’s vehicle. Others showed their enthusiasm by running alongside the caravan.
They chanted “USA, USA” and “four more years,” with many carrying American flags and posters to show their displeasure with the vote count. After making a small detour down the slow path around the site, the caravan headed to the President’s Virginia Golf Club.
Speakers included a newly elected Georgia Republican to the US House of Representatives. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon’s conspiracy theories, urged people to march peacefully to the Supreme Court.
The protesters included members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group known for fighting in the streets with ideological opponents at political rallies.
The march was largely peaceful during the day before turning tense at night, with some clashes on the margins as counter-protesters booed Trump supporters with chants of “They lost!”
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In the late afternoon, a few hundred anti-Trump protesters clashed loudly with scattered groups of Trump supporters. A group of Trump supporters were hit with eggs and one person lost his red MAGA hat, which caught fire to cheers.
Multiple police lines prevented Trump supporters from entering the Black Lives Matter Plaza area as night fell. Those who managed to enter the area were doused with water and saw their MAGA caps and pro-Trump flags snatched away.
Videos posted on social media showed some protesters and counter-protesters exchanging shoves, punches and slaps. A man with a megaphone yelling “Get out of here!” He was pushed and pushed into the street by a man who was then surrounded by several people and pushed and beaten until he fell face-first into the street. Bloody and stunned, they picked him up and escorted him to a police officer.
The “MAGA Million March” was heavily promoted on social media, raising concerns that it could lead to conflict with anti-Trump protesters, who have been gathering near the White House in Black Lives Matter Plaza for weeks.
In preparation, the police closed wide swaths of the city center, where many shops and offices have been boarded up since election day. Chris Rodriguez, director of the city’s National Security and Emergency Management Agency, said police had experience in keeping the peace.
The problems that the Trump campaign and its allies have pointed to are typical of every election: problems with signatures, secret envelopes, and postage marks on mailed ballots, as well as the possibility of a small number of ballots being incorrectly cast. or get lost. With Biden leading Trump by wide margins in key states on the battlefield, none of those issues would have any impact on the election outcome.
The Trump campaign has also presented legal challenges complaining that its election observers were unable to examine the voting process. Many of those challenges have been dismissed by the judges, a few hours after their presentation.
A former administration official, Sebastián Gorka, stirred up the crowd next to the Supreme Court saying: “We can win because he won.” But, he added, “it’s going to be difficult.”
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