Protesters marched in Minneapolis, New York and elsewhere against President Trump, while some of his supporters gathered near a building in Phoenix where crucial votes were held to be counted
[chanting] [motorcycle noise] « No cops! » “No KKK! [Drumming] « Everyone, ready to go! » [music, « Play That Funky Music »] « The people, united, will never be defeated The people, united, will never be defeated The people, united, will never be defeated » « Now! Justice! Now! Justice! Now! « What do we want? » « Justice! » « When do we want it? » « Now! » « If we don’t get it – » « Burn it! » « What do we want? » » Justice! « » When do we want it? « » Now! « [Drumming and chanting] » Black lives matter! Black lives matter! [Drum] [shouting] [siren] « Back up Save Come back » [Applause ] « There is no way to stop the power of the people because the power of the people does not stop » « I do not stop the power of the people »
PORTLAND, Ore – Calling on election officials to ‘count every vote’, protesters marched through the streets of several U.S. cities on Wednesday in response to President Trump’s aggressive efforts to challenge the vote count in the presidential election Tuesday
Protesters in Minneapolis blocked a freeway, prompting arrests In Portland, hundreds of people gathered on the waterfront to protest the president’s attempts to intervene in the vote count as a separate group protesting police and urging racial justice swept through the city center, smashing store windows and confronting police and National Guard soldiers
In Phoenix, around 150 pro-Trump protesters, some of them armed, gathered outside the county registrar’s office where a closely watched vote tally could help determine the election outcome
At several points, protesters have argued that Adrian Fontes, the county official who oversees the elections in Maricopa County, incorrectly failed to count certain ballots and cost Mr. Trump votes in Arizona’s most populous county – though there is no evidence any ballots were cast incorrectly
Keely Varvel, M The chief deputy of Fontes, said that it was not planned to stop the counting of the ballots due to the demonstration in front of the building. “We still plan to finish our work of processing the ballots and to publish more results tonight, ”Ms. Varvel said
In Detroit, another group of pro-Trump ballot observers met earlier today outside a counting center in Detroit, demanding that officials « stop counting » the ballots after the Trump campaign brought suit to stop Michigan counting
Mr. Trump claimed early Wednesday that he won the election long before major states counted all their ballots He spent much of the day claiming, without evidence, that people were trying to « steal » the election from him and to question the legitimacy of the many ballots sent by post due to the coronavirus pandemic
Early Thursday, Joseph R Biden Jr was only a handful of electoral votes to win the election, and M Trump campaign mounted aggressive legal push to challenge tally, suing Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania
« This is such a dangerous time, » said Carol Carmick, 59, who said she joined the protests in Portland out of fears Mr. Trump would try to stay in power even if he loses the election
Protesters have also gathered in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere, with some continuing the anti-racial justice and police protests that have rocked the country since the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May Other demonstrations are planned in the coming days
In Minneapolis, several hundred protesters angered by the president’s statements marched on Interstate 94, prompting police to clear the road
« Our goal is not to allow Donald Trump to steal this election from the American people, » Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer who was part of the protest, said in a telephone interview from the highway. She said protesters cut off traffic and police, some on horseback, had started making arrests and were not allowing protesters to leave
The Minnesota State Patrol said on Twitter it was stopping protesters and demonstrating on the freeway « is illegal and very dangerous for pedestrians and motorists »
In New York City, protesters staged a peaceful protest in Manhattan earlier Wednesday to demand that every vote be counted and for racial equality, but hostile clashes between protesters and police developed later when the protesters briefly halted traffic in the West Village , and officers pushed protesters onto sidewalks and arrested at least 20 people
In Portland, hundreds of people marched through downtown « The vote is over The fight continues, » a sign read The crowd subsequently stopped at a separate « Count Every Vote » rally along the waterfront, where speakers expressed fears that Mr. Trump, who lost decisively in Oregon, was trying to sabotage elections and prevent vote counting in other states
Some of the crowd moved through the city center, where some people smashed windows At this point, dozens of police started chasing the crowd through the streets and said a riot Gov Kate Brown had extended an emergency declaration earlier today, allowing it to activate the National Guard who joined operations on Wednesday night
The city has seen persistent protests since May and many protesters have vowed to continue their actions to support racial justice and oppose police brutality, regardless of who wins the election
More than a dozen protests against M Trump’s efforts to prevent vote counting were organized by Refuse Fascism In Seattle, a group of protesters took to the streets, shouting, « Every town, every town, Trump-Pence now » and « count each vote «
At the pro-Trump event in Phoenix, at least 150 people gathered in front of the State Capitol before marching to the Maricopa County Registrar’s office
« The only way Biden can win Arizona is by getting cheated, » said Jim Williams, 67, a welder who attended the protest. « I won’t accept a Biden victory. I don’t want to live under the communist regime »
Some in the crowd chanted « Down With Fox », reflecting protesters ‘anger over Fox News’ decision on Tuesday to call Arizona for M Biden, a decision other media followed later
Mike Baker reported from Portland, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs from New York and Simon Romero from Phoenix Reporting was provided by Christiaan Triebert and Ed Shanahan in New York, Kaitlin Gillespie in Portland and Hallie Golden in Seattle
Portland, Oregon, Kate Brown, protest
World News – UA – « Count Every Vote »: Ballot protests march through US Cities
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
