WASHINGTON (AP) – Supporters of President Donald Trump have come down to the country’s capital to cheer on their baseless allegations of election fraud ahead of a Congressional vote to affirm Joe Biden’s election victory.
The president is expected to personally address his supporters during a Wednesday morning rally at the Ellipse, just south of the White House.
A few blocks from the White House, protesters (many without masks) gathered in Freedom Plaza on Tuesday to deny voting at the Electoral College. As temperatures dropped to 40 lows and constant rain swept the streets, hundreds remained in the square until nightfall.
“I’m here to support the president,” said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tennessee.
Wideman acknowledged he was “confused” by a series of losses from the president’s legal team in his attempt to overturn election results and did not know what options Trump had left.
“I’m not sure what he can do right now, but I want to hear what he has to say,” Wideman said.
Trump tweeted about his support for the protesters: “Washington is flooded with people who do not want to steal an election victory stolen by lively radical left Democrats. Our country has had enough, they will not take it anymore! We hear (and love you) from the Oval Office. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! “
Speakers included Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, whom the president pardoned after being convicted twice for lying to the FBI in Russia’s investigation into Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“We’re in a melting pot of U.S. history,” Flynn told the crowd mostly without masks. “This country is awake now.”
The protests coincide with Wednesday’s vote in Congress that is expected to certify the results of the Electoral College, which Trump continues to discuss.
In a tweet Tuesday night, Trump called on Democrats and fellow Republicans to look at the “thousands of people pouring into DC.” terrorist organization, should stay out of Washington.
The rallies featured local officials and law enforcement who prepared for possible violent clashes on the street. Many downtown Washington companies raised their windows, fearing the protest could turn into the unrest seen in May and June, when dozens of businesses were vandalized.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser summoned National Guard troops to help bolster the city’s police force. He urged residents to stay away from downtown Washington and avoid clashes with anyone who “seeks a fight.” But, he warned, “we will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”
Election officials from both political parties, governors of major battlefield states and former Trump Attorney General William Barr have said there has been no widespread election fraud. Nearly all of the legal challenges Trump and his allies have been dismissed by the judges, including two appeals rejected by the Supreme Court.
A rally in favor of Trump on December 12 ended in violence as hundreds of Trump supporters, bearing the black and yellow signature of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, sought clashes with a group of local activists trying to ban them from the black Lives Matter Plaza, an area near the White House. At least two local black churches dropped Black Lives Matter banners and caught fire.
Police on Monday arrested Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, after arriving in Washington ahead of this week’s protests. Tarrio was charged with burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearms magazines, police said. A judge on Tuesday signed an order banning Tarrio from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions related to his criminal case.
In addition to the National Guard, there were federal agents on hold, in case they were needed quickly in the city this week.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons said about 100 “specially trained officers” were sent to the Justice Department headquarters to help other security personnel, but that they would remain “in reserve unless necessary.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security said that, unlike the May and June riots in Washington, it had no plans to deploy Customs and Border Protection agents at Wednesday’s rally.
“At the moment we have not been asked to deploy. However, we have a modest force of rapid reaction that will be on hold in case our help is requested, “said the agency’s acting commissioner, Mark Morgan.
Organizers had planned to meet in the evening on Tuesday and return to Wednesday all day at the Ellipse. An afternoon march was also planned at the U.S. Capitol, where Congress will vote to affirm the election results. Several prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Trump ally Roger Stone, who received a pardon from the president.
Stone was convicted of lying to Congress during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and sentenced to three years in prison. Trump commuted the sentence while Stone filed an appeal and subsequently issued a full pardon.
A November pro-Trump rally drew about 15,000 participants. The December 12 rally attracted smaller figures, but a larger contingent of Proud Boys.
During previous pro-Trump protests, police sealed Black Lives Matter Plaza itself, but confrontations spread to surrounding streets. Black Lives Matter Plaza closed on Tuesday.
“We know historically during the last demonstrations that BLM Plaza has been a focal point,” Contee said a day earlier. “We want to make sure that’s not a problem.”