SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – Supporters of President Donald Trump flocked outside Georgia state houses to New Mexico on Wednesday, prompting some officials to evacuate as cheers echoed in several demonstrations as a pro-Trump crowd invaded the US Capitol.
Hundreds of people gathered in capitals across the country to oppose the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, waving signs saying “Stop stealing” and “Four more years”. Most of them did not wear masks in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and some carried weapons in places like Oklahoma, Georgia, Arizona and Washington state.
There were some fights in states like Ohio and California, with some cases of journalists or counter-protesters being peppered or punctured. But most of the demonstrations were peaceful – some of them very small – and only a few arrests were reported.
New Mexico police evacuated officials on precaution from a Statehouse building that includes the governor’s office and the secretary of state’s office, shortly after hundreds of supporters waving flags arrived in a caravan and on horseback.
Protesters sang God bless the America, honked and wrongly announced in a megaphone that Trump was the rightful winner of the election – although Biden won the vote in New Mexico by a margin of approximately 11%.
“It is the first time in the history of the United States that the peaceful transfer of power has been delayed by an act of violence,” said Democratic House Speaker Brian Egolf. “It is a shameful moment and I hope that Congress can recover soon.”
Violent protests in Washington came as Congress tried to assert the victory of the Biden Electoral College. The news that a crowd had violated the U.S. Capitol sparked cheers in the pro-Trump protests in Minnesota and Arizona, where armed protesters marched on the Capitol in Phoenix and several men displayed a guillotine.
Georgia’s Secretary of State and his team evacuated their Capitol offices while around 100 protesters gathered outside, some armed with long weapons.
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his team decided to leave, according to Gabriel Sterling, a senior official in Raffensperger’s office.
“We saw things happening at the Georgia Capitol and said that we shouldn’t be around, we shouldn’t be a spark,” Sterling told the Associated Press.
Trump concentrated much of his anger on Raffensperger in the weeks after his defeat by about 12,000 votes.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp strongly criticized the invasion of the United States Capitol, calling it “a shame and honestly not American”. Kemp said he was extending an executive order of protests over the summer, activating the National Guard in case they are needed to protect the state capitol on Monday, when the legislative session begins.
In Washington state, protesters broke down the gate of the governor’s mansion and dozens of people gathered on the lawn. The crowd, some of them armed, repeated baseless allegations of electoral fraud. State Patrol said the authorities were responding and that Governor Jay Inslee “and his family are in a safe place”.
Earlier, dozens of people gathered at the state capitol, demanding a recount of the US presidential election and the Washington governor election, which Inslee, a Democrat, won by more than 500,000 votes. The Statehouse has been closed to the public for almost a year because of the pandemic.
In Utah, Governor Spencer Cox’s team was sent home while several hundred people gathered in Salt Lake City, Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson tweeted. Salt Lake Tribune Photographer Rick Egan said he was sprayed with pepper spray by a protester who teased him for wearing a mask and pushed him while he was recording the protest video. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was arrested.
At least one person was arrested at the Oregon Capitol in Salem on suspicion of harassment and disorderly conduct while police in riot gear tried to get people – many of them armed – to get out.
The video showed protesters and counter-protesters clashing and the riot police entering. But by mid-afternoon, only a few dozen people remained, their American and Trump flags hanging in the rain.
In Topeka, Kansas, shouts of “Stop the theft” and “No more masks” disappeared when a demonstration ended and Trump supporters peacefully entered the Statehouse building through security checkpoints, circling around historic displays.
In Honolulu, about 100 protesters lined the road outside the state capitol, waving American and Trump 2020 flags at passing cars. Sheryl Bieler, a retiree in the blue state, said she came “to support our president and support the integrity of the elections”.
Trump supporters circled the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, in cars and trucks adorned with Trump and U.S. flags for several hours on Wednesday, honking their horns.
In Colorado, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock ordered city agencies to close buildings after hundreds gathered outside the Capitol building to protest the election results.
In South Carolina, protesters who supported Trump went to the Statehouse, but left before the U.S. Capitol was breached.