‘A lost cause now’: Lonely picture shows Donald Trump fan’s heartbreak

A Trump fan who made a special journey to fight against the inauguration of the new president was devastated by what he saw when he arrived.

Mark Leggiero was waiting patiently for other patriots to join him outside the New York State Capitol building, waving a brightly coloured flag and sporting his best Donald Trump long-sleeved jersey.

They never came, and the lonely image of his one-man protest on Joe Biden’s inauguration day acts as a stark contrast to the warnings of mass unrest across the nation predicted by the FBI last week.

Objecting to the inauguration of the new president, Mr Leggiero made a 45-minute drive to the fortified and fenced off Capitol building in Albany, New York.

He thought thousands of other patriots would join him.

But when nobody else showed up, he told local media it was clear he was fighting a “lost cause”.

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Mark Leggiero is the one lone Trump supporter out in front of the NYS Capitol. He says he expected a few thousand ppl here and is disappointed. He said he drove 45 minutes for a peaceful protest pic.twitter.com/hDtCLYFpLq

— Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) January 20, 2021

Mark Leggiero,28, is lone Trump supporters at the Capitol in Albany before noon, looking to hold a peaceful demonstration. “I’m looking for more patriots.” pic.twitter.com/qlFD1copWO

— Michael Gormley (@GormleyAlbany) January 20, 2021

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“I was coming out to hopefully join a bunch of peaceful protesters in supporting the cause, that’s almost a lost cause now, unfortunately, I’m sad to say,” he told the Daily Gazette.

He added that he wasn’t interested in politics before Mr Trump, and that he will “always be my president”.

“He gave me spirit, he gave me pride, he wanted me to live free,” Mr Leggiero said.

Last week, the FBI warned of possible trouble at all 50 state capitals, and state police and other law enforcement agencies in New York prepared for the worst.

Such was the concern about protests that Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would skip Mr Biden’s inauguration and stay in Albany just in case.

It’s clear that the threat never materialised, and similar scenes played out across the nation overnight.

Capitol buildings were fortified across the US amid fears extremists might attempt to storm legislatures similar to the assault on the US Capitol earlier this month.

Instead, local reporters on the ground said there were calm scenes at the buildings across the country, with security and media massively outnumbering protesters.

One in Denver said only a “handful of folks” showed up and were peaceful until “anti-fascist” protesters showed up and started burning flags.

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Very calm scene here at the Denver Capitol, we’re being told protestors might be making their way here but right now it’s only a handful of folks.

Ft. a guy in a Captian America costume, the folks across the street with a thin blue line flag, and bike cops waiting in the wings. pic.twitter.com/QGy482jV7K

— Spencer Wilson (@Spencer_WNews) January 20, 2021

Ok, so things have changed a bit.

Large groups of anti-fascist protestors rolled up, took a photo and started burning a few flags. Law enforcement came up, extinguished flags, then protestors started fires back up. Cops backed off. pic.twitter.com/ifiIwu2qLu

— Spencer Wilson (@Spencer_WNews) January 20, 2021

In Lansing, where protesters swarmed Michigan’s Capitol building last May and a plot against the governor was uncovered in recent months, Sunday’s protest was deemed “eclectic, but small and dull” by Michigan Radio.

Current view at capitol in Lansing at about 1:15 p.m. The four people here earlier have left. Peaceful day. Police presence remains. pic.twitter.com/6YRtojoR3n

— Elisha Anderson (@elishaanderson) January 20, 2021

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In Washington D.C, the mood was also subdued despite the scenes we saw there just two weeks ago.

Instead of cheering masses, Mr Biden’s welcome to the White House was kilometres of metal barriers, masked security forces and a dystopian-looking city that would normally be primed to party on inauguration day.

The lockdown meant the contingent of roughly 25,000 National Guard troops far outnumbered revellers, who were told to stay away due to America’s out-of-control COVID spread and fears of violence.

So far US Capitol Police have said they have not made any arrests.

A bomb threat was called in targeting the Supreme Court, across the street from the Capitol, just before the inauguration ceremonies began, but it appears to have been a hoax.

“The court received a bomb threat, the building and grounds were checked out and the building is not being evacuated,” court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg told USA Today.