Supporters of US President Donald Trump held a mass rally in the country's capital on Saturday, demanding four more years for the Republican incumbent and echoing his claims that the presidential election was fraudulent. The demonstrators first gathered near the Trump hotel in Washington DC and then marched in a huge column to the Capitol and Supreme Court to demand a recount of ballots.
According to a Sputnik correspondent, two black men tried to verbally provoke Trump supporters at the Louisiana Avenue and C Street intersection. Police handcuffed both of the men, while the demonstrators applauded, with some saying "find a job, losers".
The footage spread on social media shows that counterprotesters tried to provoke Trump supporters, while another video showed them burning Trump items.
This scene keeps repeating: Trump supporter walks through crowd, they get heckled & jeered. Someone tries to take a hat or a flag or a sign to add to a growing pile of burning items. Then they push back & a scuffle breaks out. Police then pull the Trump folks behind the line. #DC pic.twitter.com/RUbm4nCeK4
— Marissa J. Lang (@Marissa_Jae) November 14, 2020
Earlier, a Sputnik correspondent reported that the mass rally in support of President Trump in Washington DC was peaceful, with on;y a few isolated incidents that were predominantly verbal confrontations. Police closed a large part of the city centre to accommodate the rally and boosted their presence, fearing clashes between Trump supporters and leftist counter-protesters.
Trump posted pictures of the mass demonstration on Twitter, saying that hundreds of thousands of people showed up.
"Hundreds of thousands of people showing their support in DC. They will not stand for a Rigged and Corrupt Election!" Trump tweeted on Saturday.
.@FoxNews and the Fake News Networks aren’t showing these massive gatherings. Instead they have their reporters standing in almost empty streets. We now have SUPPRESSION BY THE PRESS. MAGA! https://t.co/RMOa4jKZwA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2020
Major US media outlets claim that Joe Biden is the winner in the November 3 presidential election. Biden himself has already delivered a national address declaring his victory. However, the election results are disputed and have not been certified yet. Trump has said he won but victory was stolen from him via massive fraud. Trump is undertaking auditing and recounting in several US states and has filed multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts.
On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected a Republican Party lawsuit seeking to invalidate nearly 10,000 late-arriving ballots in Pennsylvania.
