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Thousands of Trump supporters are expected to protest in Washington, with a showdown in Congress. The city is alarmed.
Encouraged by the president-elect: Protests against the result of the presidential election in Washington.
Photo: EPA / Keystone
If there is one city in America that is used to almost anything when it comes to demonstrations, it is Washington. In the US capital, protests of all kinds are part of the urban landscape, at least in pandemic-free times. Anti-abortion opponents, climate activists, peace activists, friends of arms: kum a day when the smaller or larger groups do not meet somewhere in the government district, usually without any problems.
However, what will happen tomorrow Wednesday is of a different character and, therefore, causes nervousness. Tens of thousands of Donald Trump supporters are expected in the city, and not a few of these supporters are likely to come from militant circles: members of militias and right-wing extremist groups like the Proud Boys.
“You will not get this White House. We will fight like hell. “
They all come to participate in various protests against the result of the presidential elections because, in their opinion, there was widespread electoral fraud of which there is no evidence. The president-elect has encouraged these protests and promised that he will speak to his supporters on the spot. “You won’t get this White House,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday. “We will fight like hell.”
Workers climb store windows in downtown Washington. The mayor has asked residents to avoid the city center.
Photo: EPA / Keystone
The concern of the authorities and many neighbors rcoincidence hence, members of the Proud Boys and similar violent groups apparently plan to smuggle weapons into the city. Recently, there have been more and more reports on social media of bearded men in camouflage suits driving through residential areas in jeeps with non-local license plates. The carrying of weapons is prohibited in Washington. It is also clear that the protests will attract radical left counter-protesters, increasing the risk of clashes.
A mood of alarm as rarely
Therefore, the city government installed roadblocks on Tuesday and assembled several hundred unarmed National Guard soldiers to stand guard at various locations. The mayor has urged all Washington residents to avoid the city center entirely for the next few days, and the police chief announced that all available police officers would be available to deal with the protests, a state of mind alarm that had rarely been raised in recent years.
On Monday night, police arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who was heading to Washington from Florida. He had admitted on social media that at the last gathering of Trump supporters in Washington in December, he burned a “Black Lives Matter” flag attached to an African-American church. Several black parishes have asked the police for greater protection because they feared further attacks by right-wing extremists.
All eyes on Mike Pence
The biggest protest in front of the Capitol is expected. Congress will meet there on Wednesday to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory. Vice President Mike Pence has a constitutional job of reading voters’ counted votes, a mere formality that normally receives little attention.
This time, however, it is all charged by Trump and a staggering number of Republicans who have said they will oppose confirmation of voters’ votes. The maneuver is something like the last contingent of Trump, which is supported by his followers on the street. It will fail because the Democratic-ruled House of Representatives (and probably the Senate as well) will not accept an objection and thus the de facto cancellation of the election.
the Yet Trump and his supporters hope that Pence will intervene on Trump’s behalf. “I hope our great vice president will defend us,” Trump said Monday. However, Pence has no leeway. Vice President Faces Decision noted the “New York Times”: “You can choose between the constitution and your boss.”
