Trump supporters flock to D.C. before vote to certify Biden’s win
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump descended on the nation’s capital Tuesday to cheer his baseless claims of election fraud a day before a congressional vote to affirm Joe Biden’s victory.
Just blocks from the White House, protesters — many without masks — gathered in Freedom Plaza to decry the vote in the Electoral College. As temperatures dropped to the low 40s and a steady rain swept onto the streets, hundreds remained in the plaza into nightfall.
“I’m just here to support the president,” said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tenn.
Trump tweeted his support for the protesters: “Washington is being inundated with people who don’t want to see an election victory stolen by emboldened Radical Left Democrats. Our Country has had enough, they won’t take it anymore! We hear you (and love you) from the Oval Office. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The president was expected to personally address his supporters in Washington on Wednesday during a rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. The protests coincide with Wednesday’s congressional vote expected to certify the Electoral College results, which Trump continues to dispute.
The rallies had local officials and law enforcement bracing for potential violent street clashes.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called in National Guard troops to help bolster the city’s police force. She warned, “We will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”
On Monday, police arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, after hewas accused of burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearm magazines, police said. A judge signed an order Tuesday banning Tarrio from entering the District of Columbia.