Arrests, stabbings at pro-Trump rally
WASHINGTON – A crowd waving American flags and wearing Make America Great Again hats gathered Saturday in Freedom Plaza in support of President Donald Trump and his allegations of voter fraud in the presidential election.
Later in the evening, the scene became unruly. WRC-TV reported that four people were taken to a hospital with stab wounds, and the Metropolitan Police Department said nearly 30 people were arrested.
Videos posted to social media showed confrontations between Trump supporters and opponents and people wearing pro-Trump attire attacking bystanders. In one incident, a bystander pulled out a knife after arguing with Trump supporters. In another, police pepper-sprayed people involved in a scuffle.
Earlier, the mood in Freedom Plaza was celebratory as speakers including Sebastian Gorka claimed Trump had won the election and urged demonstrators to keep the pressure on state legislatures.
A few blocks away, things were getting tense near Black Lives Matter Plaza, not far from the White House. Police in riot gear formed a line to separate members of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group, from counterprotesters. Proud Boys antagonized police, demanding to be let through and trading expletives with counterprotesters.
On Saturday night, more videos posted to social media showed fights and documented far-right demonstrators burning a Black Lives Matter banner. The violence escalated after dark, even as police worked to keep Proud Boys members away from counterprotesters, according to The Washington Post.
Across the country in Olympia, Washington, police arrested one person after a shooting near a number of demonstrations, including a group that wanted coronavirus restrictions lifted, another protesting Trump’s loss in the presidential election last month, and a Black Lives Matter counterprotest.
The rally in Washington, D.C., was organized by Women for America First, a conservative group that organized last month’s Stop the Steal rally, which drew tens of thousands of people.
As many as 15,000 people had been expected Saturday, according to the group’s permit.
Trump tweeted Saturday morning that he was unaware of the event, “but I’ll be seeing them!” People cheered as he flew on Marine One on his way out of town for the Army-Navy football game in West Point, New York.
The crowd started to thin by midafternoon. Many didn’t wear masks, despite a mandate set by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Organizer Cindy Chafian told attendees to wash their hands but mocked COVID-19 precautions like social distancing and mask-wearing.
Chants of “CNN sucks, Fox News sucks too!” and “fight for Trump!” broke out as massive speakers blared proTrump songs such as “Real Women Vote For Trump.”
As the rally concluded, a small crowd of Trump supporters bearing flags and signs marched to the Supreme Court, where they broke into chants of “USA” and “four more years.” The crowd started to disperse as police worked to clear the street.
The Supreme Court on Friday denied an effort to prevent battleground states from casting their Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden on Monday.
“The courts do not decide who the next president of the United States will be,” former national security adviser Michael Flynn said. Though the Supreme Court’s decision has all but sealed Trump’s political fate, he contended that “there are paths that are still in play.”
Flynn pleaded guilty to perjury for lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian ambassador before Trump became president, but Trump pardoned him last month.
Some attendees appeared to support QAnon, the conspiracy theory movement that the FBI has deemed a domestic terrorist threat.
Lisa Parry and her husband, Richard, drove 14 hours from Florida to show their support for Trump and demand transparency from the government. Parry, who wore a “Million MAGA March” sweatshirt, said she doesn’t believe Biden could’ve won the election.
The night of the election, “I went to bed at 1 o’clock, and Trump was ahead. There’s no way,” said Parry, a retired nurse. “I don’t believe it. It’s faked.”
No allegations of widespread voter fraud have been substantiated, and a few dozen lawsuits raising such allegations have failed. Attorney General William Barr has said there is no evidence of fraud that would have affected the outcome of the presidential election.
Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, implied that he had been invited to the White House on Saturday. But White House deputy assistant and deputy press secretary Judd Deere told USA TODAY that Tarrio was merely on a Christmas tour open to the public.
Several groups, including the antiTrump organization Refuse Fascism and anti-fascist group All Out DC, held counterprotests at Black Lives Matter Plaza, just a few blocks from the White House.
To avoid confrontation, organizers of Saturday’s rally told demonstrators to avoid certain hotels and designated parts of Washington as a “no-go zone.” Five people were arrested Friday night and were charged with disorderly conduct, inciting violence and assault, among other charges.