San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Thousands of Trump backers march in D.C.
WASHINGTON — Fervent supporters of President Donald Trump rallied here Saturday behind his spurious claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town.
“I justwant to keep up his spirits and let him know we support him,” one loyalist, Anthony Whittaker of Winchester, Va., said from outside the Supreme Court, where a fewthousand assembled after a march along Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza, near the White House.
A week after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, demonstrations in support of Trump took place in other cities. Fury at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating, taking a cue from the president’s unrelenting assertion of victory in a race he lost.
A broad coalition of top government and industry officials has declared that the Nov. 3 voting and the following count unfolded smoothly with no more than the usual minor hiccups — “the most secure in American history,” they said, repudiating Trump’s efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest.
In Delray Beach, Fla., several hundred people marched, some carrying signs reading “Count every vote” and“We cannot live under a Marxist government.” In Lansing, Mich., protesters gathered at the Capitol to hear speakers cast doubt on results that showed Biden winning the state by more than 140,000 votes. Phoenix police estimated 1,500 people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to protest Biden’s narrow victory in the state.
The crowd in Washington chanted “USA, USA” and “four more years.” Many carried U.S. flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally.
The marchers included members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group knownfor street brawling with ideological opponents at political rallies.
The march was largely peaceful
before turning tense at night, with multiple confrontations as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.
Trump supporters who approached the area were harassed, doused with water and saw their MAGA hats and proTrump flags snatched and burned, amid cheers. As night fell, multiple police lines kept the two sides apart. By early evening, police had arrested at least 10, including four on firearms charges, according to theWashington Post and WTOP.