THERE WERE ugly scenes in Washington this past Saturday as protesters clashed with police a day after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt to have the US election result overturned.
Thousands of President Trump’s supporters took to the streets for the “Million MAGA March” just two days before the US electoral college is due to meet to formally elect Joe Biden Americas 46th president.
Intended as a show of strength, the President’s supporters convened at Freedom Plaza, close to the White House, before marching on the Supreme Court amid chants of “Stop the steal!” and “Four more years!”.
Both the Republican Party and the once pro-Trump Fox News were also the target of abuse among those in attendance throughout the day.
However, the demonstrations descended into violence later with police struggling to control a series of sporadic brawls between Trump supporters and counter-protesters.
Antifa and Trump supporters fight in DC. Video by @RichieMcGinniss: pic.twitter.com/VnmUfZUhLH
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 13, 2020
Several hundred far-right nationalists, including members of the Proud Boys movement were present during the protest.
Decked out in yellow scarves, caps and kilts, the Proud Boys were seen splintering off from the main protest to engage in violent clashes with anti-racist protesters.
Police decked out in riot gear were forced to intervene, breaking up the running battles and administering pepper spray to stop further confrontations.
Several videos posted to social media captured the running battles, while one video showed a protester setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner.
The Proud Boys and Trump supporters burn the BLM banner while chanting and cheering in downtown DC: pic.twitter.com/L16azBBhbr
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) December 13, 2020
According to police reports, four people were stabbed in the ensuing violence while at least 23 were arrested.
Early in the day, Trump appeared to endorse the demonstrations, tweeting: “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.”
He also shared a video from the event which showed many of the thousands gathered were not wearing masks or social distancing.
At one point during the event, two helicopters passed over the protest, prompting many to believe Trump was on board, heading to the annual American football game between the US army and navy in New York.
The President has yet to comment on the ugly scenes witnessed later on.
Despite the large turnout, the event was noticeably smaller than the one held back on November 14.
It comes with Trump facing an increasingly uphill struggle to remain in the White House after America’s highest court flatly rejected what is being seen as the last viable legal challenge to the presidential election outcome.
The lawsuit, filed by the state of Texas, sought to invalidate results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where Biden was victorious.
18 state attorneys general and 106 Republican members of Congress supported the suit, however the four states in a filing asked the justices to reject the lawsuit, citing the fact it had no legal grounds.
The Supreme Court agreed.
"Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognisable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections," it said in its ruling.
Having had a similar complaint by Republics in Pennsylvania rejected, Trump’s legal challenge to the results appears all but over.
