SUPPORTERS RALLY AROUND PRESIDENT

Supporters swarm president’s car as he leaves Washington.

Crowd swarms Donald Trump’s motorcade Saturday when he detours for adrive-by on hisway out of town. Some show their enthusiasm by running alongwith the caravan,

WASHINGTON— Supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town.

“I just want to keep up his spirits and let him know we support him,” Anthony Whittaker of Winchester, Virginia, said from outside the Supreme Court, where a few thousand assembled after a march along Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza, near the White House.

Aweek after the presidential race was called for Democrat Joe Biden, their fury at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating.

The crowd was beginning to gather in the morning when cheers rang out as Trump’s limousine neared Freedom Plaza. People lined both sides of thestreet. Some stood just a few feet away from Trump’s vehicle; others showed their enthusiasm by running along with the caravan.

They chanted “USA, USA” and “four more years,” and many carried American flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally. After making the short de tour for the slow drive around the site, the motorcade headed to the president’s Virginia golf club.

Among the speakers was a Georgia Republican newly elected to the U.S. House. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who urged people to march peacefully toward the Supreme Court.

The march was largely peaceful, with some tension along the margins as counter demonstrators heckled the Trump supporters with chants of “You lost!”

The “Million MA GA March” was heavily promoted on social media, raising concerns that it could spark conflict with anti-Trump demonstrators, who have gathered near the White House in Black Lives Matter Plaza for weeks.

In preparation, police closed off wide swaths of downtown, where many stores and offices have been boarded up since Election Day. Chris Rodriguez, director of the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the police were experienced at keeping the peace.

Trump’s campaign has filed legal challenges complaining that their poll watchers were unable to scrutinize the voting process. Many of those challenges have been tossed out by judges, some within hours of their filing.

A former administration official, Sebastian Gorka, whipped up the crowd by the Supreme Court by saying, “We can win because he did win.”

KENNY HOLSTON/THE NEWYORK TIMES President Donald Trumpwaves to supporters protesting the results of the election, as the presidentialmotorcade drives by the rally.