From Atlanta and Tallahassee to Austin, Bismarck, Boise and Phoenix, crowds ranging in size from a few dozen to a few thousand, some of them openly carrying weapons, condemned the news of Joe Biden’s victory after more than three days of vote filled with suspense. -counting put the Democrat on top. Skirmishes broke out in some cities.
In Atlanta, outside the State Capitol in Georgia’s former Republican stronghold, the shouts of “Lock him up!” They resonated with some 1,000 Trump supporters. Others chanted, “This is not over! This is not over!” and “Fake news!” The streets were awash with American flags and Trump banners.
No immediate violence was reported, although at one point, police moved to separate Trump opponents from supporters. Biden had a slight advantage in Georgia, which has not opted for a Democrat since 1992.
Jordan Kelley, a 29-year-old from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, drove more than three hours to Atlanta to attend the pro-Trump rally.
“There is electoral fraud here,” Kelley said, claiming that voters in Georgia, a state with a Republican governor and secretary of state, had incorrectly counted the ballots to put Biden ahead. “Even though I live in Tennessee, I am an American, and I want to make sure that Americans have a voice in the elections.”
He planned to make the 10-hour drive to Washington next week to demonstrate on the steps of the Supreme Court, where Trump and his lawyers have promised to eventually present their case.
Underscoring the resentments on both sides of the nation’s deep political divide, anti-Trump protesters in Washington booed, shouted obscenities and shouted “Loser! Loser! “And he pointed to Trump’s caravan as the president was returning to the White House from a golf outing on Saturday.
Two signs posted in front of Trump’s Washington hotel read “Don’t be a sore loser” and “Face reality.”
Contrary to claims by Trump supporters, there has been no evidence of any serious election fraud. And some Republican elected officials across the country began to distance themselves from Trump, urging him to accept the result gracefully.
The outright rejection of Biden as legitimate president by Trump and his supporters appears to represent something new in American political history, said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.
“Usually we haven’t had a leader lose the presidency and then say to his followers, ‘This is false. This was stolen from us, ‘”Perry said.” The presidents in office have been crazy, so angry that they did not go to the inauguration, but not like this, where they are leading those people to say that this is fraudulent. “
A couple of thousand Trump supporters gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania played a crucial role in Biden’s victory.
“If we don’t stop this today, it’s all over,” 66-year-old Bruce Fields said of the news organizations that declared Biden the winner. “Otherwise, we can say goodbye to freedom.”
About two dozen heavily armed men, some dressed in camouflage, joined the rally.
At the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, a crowd grew to more than 1,000 in a matter of hours. Biden won Arizona on his way to victory in the Electoral College.
“It’s very suspicious that President Trump, with the red wave we’ve been seeing in Arizona, is fighting back,” Kelli Ward, former state senator and chair of the Arizona Republican Party, told boisterous pro-Trump protesters. “I want to know if there is any discrepancy with the numbers coming out of the machines.”
More than 1,000 people gathered at the Texas Capitol in Austin, and police kept Trump and Biden supporters on opposite sides of the street. Several hundred protesters flocked to Salem, Oregon, for a “Stop the Steal” rally.
Even in a place that was not nearby, Trump supporters gathered in droves to express their support and express their frustration at the election result. On the outskirts of the North Dakota Capitol in Bismarck, the all-Republican Congressional delegation joined the singing and carrying protesters.
Some skirmishes broke out between Trump supporters and pro-Biden and Black Lives Matters protesters, with a BLM supporter trying to handcuff a Trump supporter. The two men began to fight on the ground.
An officer escorted the Black Lives Matter supporter to a patrol car. It was unclear if he had been arrested.
In Lansing, Michigan, about 50 Trump supporters and a smaller group of protesters carrying Black Lives Matter flags converged on the State Capitol, where they shoved, shoved and yelled at each other in a tense standoff. But moments after the race was called, some on both sides broke down in prayer and at least one pair hugged.
Frank Dobbs, 40, of Henderson, Nevada, brought a megaphone and a Trump 2020 flag that he fought with in a strong wind during a rally outside the Clark County voter registration office in North Las Vegas. .
“It doesn’t end until it ends. The courts still remain. If there is ever a time to expose widespread fraud, this is the president to do it, “Dobbs said.” The media do not decide who wins the presidency. The legal voters of this country decide. “
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