Hundreds of people have gathered at Freedom Plaza, not far from the White House: They wear Trump caps, scarves with prints and wave flags. On the stage, musicians rap about the “election fraud”. Speakers include leaders from the far right, including political activist Roger Stone and conspiracy publicist Alex Jones.
Highnoon in Washington DC! Thousands of Trump supporters are on the way – their goal: to support their president!
While the countdown to the final vote on the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden (78) is running in both chambers of Congress, there are loud protests on the streets of the capital – riots are likely. Mayor Muriel Bowser (48) has already called the National Guard for help.
Trump’s supporters are still convinced: The election was stolen. There is no evidence of this, but the Trump movement’s firm belief in the “great theft”, according to so many posters, is unshakable.
For the police officers, the demos in Washington will be a major battle dayPhoto: Herbert Bauernebel
“Trump was re-elected as President,” says Stacy Whited to BILD: “The media does not determine who won, but we, the citizens – and the election was stolen!”
She hopes that Vice-President Mike Pence (61) also sees it that way and that Trump could still win the election.
This is exactly the scenario that the increasingly desperate president has brought into play, where he has dramatically increased the pressure on his number two: “He will make it possible for us,” said Trump last at an appearance in the US state of Georgia.
But according to the US Constitution, Pence has no right to block the result. His job is merely to chair the counting of the electoral votes – 306 for Biden, 232 for Trump – at a joint meeting of both chambers of Congress for the final authentication of the result.
Normally this congress session is a formality, but Trump’s allies are calling for the final battle: 13 Republican senators do not want to certify the Biden victory, there are dozens more MPs in the House of Representatives. Ultimately, the rebels can only delay the count with the expected spectacle, but not prevent it! There are no majorities in both chambers.
Trump himself intends to further heat up the mood: the President is planning a speech to his supporters in the park “The Ellipse” in front of the White House on Wednesday morning.
The aggressive behavior of the violent Trump supporters “Proud Boys” caused unrest at the rallies. Its leader Enrique Tarrio (36) was arrested on Monday and released on bail on Tuesday – on condition that he stayed away from Washington. Numerous speakers at the demo praise the right-wing extremists.
A group of the “Proud Boys” stands on a corner, they wear helmets, bulletproof vests and military jackets. One of them shouts, “We’re going to have fun today!” Some of them are prevented by the police from going to the “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. These are the first skirmishes before an expected day of major fighting for the security forces.
“We’ll fight,” says Trump supporter Whited, but she doesn’t mean violence. They want to put pressure on those politicians who do not want to clear up the alleged electoral fraud. It seems as if the vendetta of the “Trumpies” began long ago: the spiral of political polarization continues to turn.