[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Supporters of President Donald Trump have descended on the nation’s capital to applaud his baseless allegations of electoral fraud ahead of a Congressional vote to affirm Joe Biden’s election victory.
The president is expected to address his supporters personally at a rally Wednesday morning on the Ellipse, just south of the White House.
A few blocks from the White House, protesters – many without masks – gathered at Freedom Plaza on Tuesday to denounce the Electoral College vote. As temperatures plummeted in the low 40s and steady rain swept through the streets, hundreds of people stayed in the square until nightfall.
“I’m just here to support the president,” said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tennessee.
Wideman admitted he was “confused” by a string of losses from the president’s legal team in his attempt to overturn the election results and was unsure what options Trump had left.
“I don’t know what he can do at this point, but I want to hear what he has to say,” Wideman said.
Trump tweeted his support for the protesters: “Washington is inundated with people who don’t want to see an election victory stolen by emboldened leftist radical Democrats. Our country has had enough, they won’t take it anymore! We hear you (and love you) from the Oval Office. MAKE AMERICA EVEN BIGGER! “
Speakers included former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who the president pardoned after being twice convicted of lying to the FBI in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia.
“We are at a pivotal moment in American history,” Flynn told the mostly unmasked crowd. “This country is awake now.”
The protests coincide with Wednesday’s congressional vote supposed to certify the electoral college’s results, which Trump continues to dispute.
In a Tuesday night tweet, Trump called on Democrats and fellow Republicans to look into the “thousands of people flocking to Washington.” In another tweet, he warned that antifa, the umbrella term for left-wing militant groups as a terrorist organization, should stay outside of Washington.
The rallies allowed local officials and law enforcement officials to prepare for possible violent street clashes. Many businesses in downtown Washington have closed their windows over fears the protest could turn into the unrest seen in May and June when dozens of businesses were vandalized.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called on National Guard troops to help bolster the city’s police force. She urged residents to stay away from downtown Washington and avoid confrontation with anyone “looking to fight.” But, she warned, “we will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”
Election officials from both political parties, the governors of major battlefield states and former Trump attorney general William Barr said there was no widespread fraud in the election. Almost all of the legal challenges from Trump and his allies were dismissed by the judges, including two challenges dismissed by the Supreme Court.
A pro-Trump rally on December 12 ended in violence as hundreds of Trump supporters, wearing the black and yellow signature of the far-right Proud Boys, sought confrontations with a collective of local activists trying to ban them from blacks. Lives Matter Plaza, a neighborhood near the White House. At least two local black churches had Black Lives Matter banners torn and set on fire.
Police arrested Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, on Monday after arriving in Washington ahead of this week’s protests. Tarrio was charged with burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high capacity gun magazines, police said. A judge on Tuesday signed an order barring Tarrio from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions related to his criminal case.
In addition to the National Guard, federal agents were on standby, in case they were needed quickly in the city this week.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons said around 100 “specially trained officers” had been dispatched to Justice Ministry headquarters to assist other security personnel, but would remain “in reserve unless necessary”.
The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, said that unlike the May and June unrest in Washington, it had no plans to deploy customs and border protection officers to Wednesday’s protest.
“At this time, we have not been asked to deploy. However, we have a modest rapid reaction force that will be on standby in case our help is requested, ”said acting agency commissioner Mark Morgan.
Organizers planned to meet overnight Tuesday and again all day Wednesday on the Ellipse. An afternoon march was also scheduled to the U.S. Capitol, where Congress will vote to confirm the election results. A number of prominent Trump supporters were expected, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his longtime ally Roger Stone, who was pardoned by the president.
Stone was convicted of lying to Congress during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and sentenced to three years in prison. Trump commuted the sentence as Stone continued an appeal and later issued a full pardon.
A pro-Trump rally in November drew around 15,000 attendees. The December 12 rally drew a smaller number, but a larger contingent of Proud Boys.
In previous pro-Trump protests, police cordoned off Black Lives Matter Plaza itself, but clashes have spread to surrounding streets. Black Lives Matter Plaza was wrapped up on Tuesday.
“We know that historically in recent protests BLM Plaza has been a focal point,” Contee said a day earlier. “We want to make sure that’s not a problem.”
[ad_2]
Source link