More than a dozen arrested as protesters demand that votes be counted … or not
By Orange County on November 5, 2020
By MARTHA BELLISLE and ADAM GELLER | Associated Press
Police arrested dozens of people in Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon overnight during protests demanding a tally of all votes in the US election, and smaller groups backing President Donald Trump returned to tabulation sites in closely contested states to insist counting be halted.
In Seattle, seven people were arrested. One person arrested for allegedly damaging property was taken to a hospital after “experiencing a medical episode,” police said in a statement early Thursday.
The protests came as the president insisted, without evidence, that there were major problems with voting and counting of ballots. Republicans filed suit in multiple states, preparing to contest election results.
In Minneapolis, police arrested more than 600 demonstrators who marched onto an interstate in Minneapolis Wednesday night protesting Trump’s threats to challenge the election results, as well as a variety of social injustices.
People march during a protest one day after elections, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Demonstrator Karen Louise Gonsalves, of Boston, center, displays a placard, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, during a protest on the Boston Common, in Boston, as ballots continue to be counted in some battleground states for the general election. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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People wanting to be election challengers yell as they look through the windows of the central counting board as police were helping to keep additional challengers from entering due to overcrowding, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
An election official, right, talks with a challenger, center, from entering the central counting board, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
New York Police officers accost demonstrators in the West Village, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Protesters hold letters that spell Count Every Vote as they cross an overpass while marching in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Demonstrators, including one carrying a Black Lives Matter flag, march to urge that all votes be counted, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Philadelphia, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Police officers arrest a protestor as he marched through the East Village during demonstration, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Protesters march in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
A man carries a gun as he walks during a march in support of vote counting after the Nov. 3 elections, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Workers board up a Zara store in preparation for election results protests, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
People march during a protest after the Nov. 3 elections, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
People gather during a Protect the Results rally at the Common, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 in Brattleboro, Vt. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
A woman wears a mask showing the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while listening to speakers outside of Revolution Hall before marching in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Demonstrators march to urge that all votes be counted, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Philadelphia, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters rally about the election Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
President Donald Trump’s campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski, center, speaks outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes are being counted, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Philadelphia, following Tuesday’s election. At left is former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
President Donald Trump’s campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski, center, speaks outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes are being counted, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Philadelphia, following Tuesday’s election. At left is former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
People rally outside City Hall, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. Dozens of pro-Trump protesters gathered to protest after Democratic challenger Joe Biden was reported to have flipped the Republican stronghold of Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)
People rally outside City Hall, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. Dozens of pro-Trump protesters gathered to protest after Democratic challenger Joe Biden was reported to have flipped the Republican stronghold of Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Demonstrators supporting President Donald Trump argue their viewpoint outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes are being counted, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Philadelphia, following Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Supporters of President Donald Trump walk down the street after attending a news conference by the Trump campaign in front of the Clark County Election Department, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People rally outside City Hall, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Phoenix. Dozens of pro-Trump protesters gathered to protest after Democratic challenger Joe Biden was reported to have flipped the Republican stronghold of Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Trump supporter Charles Littleton, center, argues with Biden supporter Angelo Austin, right, as Trump supporters protest election results outside the central counting board at the tcf Center in Detroit, Mich., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
No force or chemicals were used to make the arrests for walking on a freeway and being a public nuisance, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Thursday.
In Portland, protesters smashed windows at businesses, hurled objects including fireworks at officers. Police made at least 10 arrests, according to a statement from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers seized multiple firearms, ammunition, a knife, fireworks, body armor and gas masks from people who were arrested, a sheriff’s office statement said.
One of the people who was arrested had a rifle with a magazine of ammunition, fireworks, a knife and was wearing a ballistics vest, the sheriff’s office said.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called out the National Guard to manage the unrest in Portland, which has been a scene of regular protests for months.
“It’s important to trust the process, and the system that has ensured free and fair elections in this country through the decades, even in times of great crisis,” Brown said in a statement.
Portland protester Richard March said he came despite a heart a heart condition that makes him vulnerable to COVID-19.
“To cast doubt on this election has terrible consequences for our democracy,” he said. “I think we are a very polarized society now — and I’m worried about what’s going to come in the next days and weeks and months.”
In New York, hundreds of people paraded past boarded-up luxury stores on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, and in Chicago, demonstrators marched through downtown and along a street across the river from Trump Tower. Protesters also gathered in cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Pittsburgh and San Diego.
The protests came as smaller groups of Trump supporters gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground.
In Phoenix, at least two dozen Trump supporters gathered outside city hall Thursday morning, chanting “Protect Our Vote.” The group said they planned to return to the tabulation center, where a Wednesday night rally decried a declaration by Fox News that Biden was the winner in Arizona.
“We’re not going to let this election be stolen. Period,” said Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican and staunch Trump supporter, told the crowd Wednesday.
Observers from both major political parties were inside the election center as ballots were processed and counted, and the procedure was live-streamed online at all times.
Several sheriff’s deputies blocked the entrance to the building. The vote-counting went on into the night, Maricopa County Elections Department spokeswoman Megan Gilbertson said.
“Everyone should want all the votes to be counted, whether they were mailed or cast in person,” said the statement issued by two top county officials — one a Democrat and the other a Republican. “An accurate vote takes time. … This is evidence of democracy, not fraud.”
In Detroit, a few dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the city’s convention center Thursday morning, as election workers counted absentee ballots inside. They held signs that said “stop the steal” and “stop the cheat.”
A small group of counter protesters gathered on the other side of the street, and the two sides shouted at each other. Trump’s supporters occasionally mocked those on the other side over a loud speaker.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, insisted Wednesday that both parties and the public had been given access to the tallying, “using a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all ballots are counted fairly and accurately.”
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AP reporters Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Terry Tang in Phoenix and Claire Galofaro in Detroit contributed to this report.
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