Biden’s victory sparks smattering of protests
A smattering of protests broke out around the country Saturday after former Vice President Joe Biden won the presidency, with President Donald Trump and his supporters refusing to accept defeat and pushing unfounded suspicions that rampant voter fraud was denying him a second term.
A theme quickly emerged among Trump and his allies: They’re suspicious that the system was rigged, and they’re unwilling to accept the results even without any specific evidence of fraud.
Outside the state Capitol in the longheld Republican stronghold of Georgia, chants of “lock him up” rang out among estimated 1,000 Trump supporters. Others chanted, “This isn’t over! This isn’t over!” and “Fake news!” The streets outside the Capitol were awash with American flags and Trump flags.
No violence was reported, although at one point, police moved to separate Trump opponents from his supporters. Georgia, which hasn’t gone for a Democrat since 1992, was on the cusp of swinging into Biden’s corner. It had become a key battleground state, but Biden was pushed over into the win column with projected results from Pennsylvania and Nevada to secure enough electoral votes to become the nation’s 46th president.
Jordan Kelley, a 29-year-old from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, drove more than three hours to Atlanta to attend a pro-Trump rally.
“There’s election fraud going on here,” said Kelley, voicing the belief that votes in Georgia, a state led by a Republican governor and with a Republican secretary of state, had been improperly counted to put Biden ahead. “Even though I live in Tennessee, I’m an American, and I want to make sure Americans have a voice in the election”
He planned to make the 10-hour trip to Washington, D.C., in the coming week to demonstrate on the steps of the U.S.
Supreme Court, where Trump and his lawyers have vowed to eventually make his case.
Since the polls closed on Election Day on Tuesday, Trump supporters – some of them armed – have gathered outside buildings where votes were being tabulated, many carrying Trump flags and signs with the hashtag #stopthesteal.
Shortly after Biden was projected to win the presidential race, some 75 Trump protesters gathered outside the election tabulation center in downtown Phoenix. That crowd swelled to more than 1,000 within hours.
“This election has not been called!” yelled Jake Angeli, a regular at proTrump rallies who typically wears a wooly fur hat with horns. “Don’t believe that lie! They got their hands caught in the cookie jar, and we’re going to the Supreme Court!
“Trump always looks like he’s going to lose. And then he wins,” Angeli said.
Kelli Ward, former state senator and chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, told boisterous pro-Trump demonstrators that she was involved in an effort to force a hand count of ballots to ensure that every single one was counted correctly.
“It’s very suspicious that President Trump, with the red wave we’ve been seeing in Arizona, is struggling,” she said. “I want to know if there is any discrepancy with the numbers coming out of the machines.”
Amid the tensions, there was at least one scene that could portend what is to come. In Lansing, Michigan, a group of about 50 Trump supporters and a smaller group of marchers carrying Black Lives Matter flags converged on the Michigan State Capitol, where they pushed, shoved and shouted at one another in a tense standoff. But within moments of the race being called, a few from both sides broke into prayers, and at least one pair hugged.
Election officials in several states where Biden led said the anger outside their doors made them fear for the safety of their employees. They were girding for more unrest in the days ahead as Trump refused to concede.
Those carrying weapons insist they are keeping the peace.
“I’m here to protect a peaceful protest,” Keith Owen, who carried a semiautomatic assault rifle and wore a handgun in a holster strapped to his leg, said Friday.