San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Trump backers mount ‘ Stop the Steal’ rally
WASHINGTON — Thousands of supporters of President Trump returned to Washington on Saturday for rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden. They cheered as Trump flew overhead on the Marine One helicopter on his way out of town for the ArmyNavy football game in West Point, N. Y.
The gatherings of mostly unmasked Trump loyalists were intended as a show of force just two days before the Electoral College meets to formally elect Biden as the 46th president. Trump, whose term will end Jan. 20, refuses to concede, while clinging to baseless claims of fraud that have been rejected by state and federal courts, and Friday by the Supreme Court.
Trump tweeted his apparent surprise Saturday morning at the rallies, publicly known for weeks: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington ( D. C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! # MAGA”
Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser recently pardoned by Trump, spoke as Trump’s helicopter passed overhead.
“Imagine just being able to jump in a helicopter and just go for a joy ride around Washington,” said Flynn, whose pardon wiped away his conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.
A proTrump demonstration in Washington a month ago, which drew up to 15,000 people, ended with scattered clashes between Trump loyalists and local activists.
On Saturday, police took more steps to keep the two sides apart, closing a wide swath of downtown to traffic and completely restricting Black Lives Matter Plaza. One block away, about 150 antiTrump demonstrators rallied, determined to protect the space.
A group of about 50 men wearing the black and yellow of the farright fascist group the Proud Boys circled the perimeter. Police kept them two blocks away from the antiTrump rally.