Protesters Swarm Outside White House To Show Trump The Door

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Protesters gathered outside the White House as 2020 presidential election results rolled in. The Sun reported that “officers lined the streets around the White House and a fence was erected around the perimeter of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where a thousand protesters gathered.” Apparently, at least one arrest was made on the site, although the identity of the person arrested isn’t immediately clear, and neither is it clear why police apprehended this individual in the first place. The Sun claimed that some protesters “declared they would stay for weeks if President Trump is re-elected” — although as of early Wednesday, results suggest that Trump may be on his way to a loss.

According to footage from reporter Brandon Gutenschwager, who was on the scene in D.C., hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets as the hours after polls closed on Election Day rolled on. Demonstrators set off fireworks — and there was even a giant inflatable “Trump chicken” on display, which showed some of the president’s familiar features on the body of a large chicken. Protests have rocked D.C. in recent months following incidents like the police murder of a black man in Minnesota named George Floyd, and Trump has generally reacted to these protests with revulsion, threatening to send militarized forces into the streets after the demonstrators.

Protesters returned to the streets of D.C. on early Wednesday. Washington Post reporter Marissa Lang, who was on the scene, said that some of the demonstrators “will target specific entities” on Wednesday that the protesters “see as threats to democracy.” The demonstrators wheeled out a large anti-Fox News display — Fox, of course, has been a big pusher of Trump’s agenda throughout his time in office.

Ahead of Election Day, some businesses in D.C. boarded up their windows in preparation for possible violence. Isolated instances of violent rioting have marked recent nationwide protests against police brutality — and there have also been some incidents of clear police instigation of violence during these same demonstrations. Some businesses in New York City also boarded up their windows ahead of Election Night. Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to tie Democratic leaders like Joe Biden to violent rioting, but Biden and others have unequivocally and repeatedly condemned violence. It’s Trump who has repeatedly tried to use incidents of violence for brazenly political ends.