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(AP): Election officials in several states said Thursday they are concerned about the safety of their staff amid a series of threats and angry protesters gatherings outside their doors, lured by President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread fraud. in the race for the target. House.
“I can tell you that my wife and my mother are very concerned about me,” said Joe Gloria, the registrar in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas. He said his staff was tightening security and tracking vehicles to and from the elections. Offices.
But he added that he and others would not fail to “do our duty and count the ballots.”
Groups of Trump supporters have gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, denouncing the counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground.
While the protests have not been violent or very large, local officials were distraught and concerned by the relentless accusations.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted a petition to “stop making harassing and threatening calls” to her staff.
“Asking them to push marbles in awkward places is never appropriate and is a sad comment on the state of our nation,” wrote Nessel, a Democrat, referring to a bogus conspiracy theory that Trump supporters were told to fill out. Ballots with Sharpie markers from normal pens so your votes wouldn’t be counted by the machines.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, speaking on CNN, said her main concern was staff safety, but that sheriff’s deputies were providing protection. She said the protesters were “causing delays and disruptions and preventing those employees from doing their jobs.”
On Thursday, about 100 Trump supporters gathered again in front of the Maricopa County Election Center in Phoenix. The authorities used fences to create a “free speech zone” and keep the entrance to the building open.
The crowd took turns chanting, “Count the votes!” and “Four more years!” – and complain through a megaphone about the voting process.
They paused to listen as Trump spoke from the White House Thursday night, repeating many of his unfounded claims of a rigged vote.
They shouted and clapped when the president said, “We are on our way to winning Arizona.” The Associated Press has called Arizona for Biden.
In Atlanta, about 100 chanting Trump supporters gathered outside State Farm Arena as the votes were counted. Several Atlanta police officers monitored the scene.
Tom Haas, 50, who said he was visiting Atlanta from Chicago on business, said he was convinced Trump had won the election.
“There is obvious electoral fraud and it comes from the larger cities run by Democrats,” he said. “Atlanta is one of them.”
“Our democracy is under attack,” he said, echoing Trump’s language. “We are losing the United States because we are losing a fair election for the nation.”
In Detroit, a few dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the city’s convention center Thursday morning as poll workers counted absentee votes inside. The protesters held signs reading “Stop Theft” and “Stop The Deception.” – AP
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