Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Several conservative groups claiming the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen from incumbent President Donald Trump gathered on Saturday in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., for a rally organized by Women for America First. Reportedly several thousand supporters turned out, with Trump flags and hats, in D.C. to protest, some in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, which rejected, the day before the rally, a lawsuit filed by Texas which tried to overturn the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Trump tweeted he wasn’t aware of the event but would go to see it anyway: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA” MAGA stands for Make America Great Again — a slogan commonly used by Trump and his supporters.
Trump flew above the rally on his Marine One helicopter on his way to West Point, New York, with supporters cheering below. Former Trump adviser and retired general Michael Flynn was on stage while Trump flew over. This was the first time Flynn made a public speech since he was pardoned by Trump. He said “That’s pretty cool. Imagine just being able to jump in a helicopter and just go for a joy ride around Washington”. Another former Trump adviser, Sebastian Gorka, also spoke in the rally and encouraged supporters to remain hopeful after the recent court decision.
The rallies happened two days before the formal vote of the Electoral College to choose the president-elect. Trump and his supporters claimed Joe Biden only won the elections due to voter fraud and sought to overturn the results. Organizers of the rally said they were fighting corruption and dishonesty. Flynn said there was a lack of transparency in the elections and urged the crowd to consider what the counters are hiding from them and why don’t they let them look at the signatures and at the machines.
A couple from Florida, Richard and Lisa Parry, made a 14-hour drive to D.C. for the rally. Lisa Parry, a retired nurse, said, “I went to bed at 1 o’clock and Trump was ahead. There’s no way[…] I don’t believe it, it’s fake.”