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US Election 2020: Chaos as protest groups clash outside the White House

Ugly fights have erupted between opposing groups and police outside the White House with one person cloaked in black swinging a baseball bat.

Sarah McPhee
5 min read
November 4, 2020 - 4:08PM
A number of people have been arrested as the votes are counted in the US. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
A number of people have been arrested as the votes are counted in the US. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP

A man who said “white lives matter” in the faces of protesters gathered in Black Lives Matter Plaza outside the White House was pummeled and shoved against the “non-scalable” fence.

Shutdown DC predicted thousands of people to gather to “defend democracy” on Tuesday.

The “After you vote, hit the streets” protest was scheduled from 4pm until 11.55pm, with further action planned for Wednesday, November 4.

Despite earlier peaceful action in Washington DC, fights broke out as the votes rolled in.

CBS reported “some sort of smoke bomb” was let off and independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager filmed a flag being set alight on the street.

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RELATED: Live election results as they come in

A “scuffle” also broke out between protesters and bicycle patrol officers with the crowd chanting “move back, move back” before police retreated.

NBC reported a “tense calm” was restored.

Earlier, one man was arrested at the otherwise calm protest in the plaza near St John’s Episcopal Church where Donald Trump stood holding a bible earlier this year.

The music came to a halt as the man was brought to the ground by Metropolitan Police.

Warning: Graphic language in below video.

“We’re going to start this next phase of the election cycle in the streets,” the Shutdown DC website states.

“We’ll have GoGo bands, salsa dancers, artists, cultural workers, and much more. We’ll also be watching the election results coming in on big screens. Votes will still be coming in, so this will (probably) not be the time we need to create disruption to stop a coup – yet.

“But we’ll be in a good place to respond to whatever might happen.”

A “non-scalable” fence has been erected around the White House.

In front of it, protesters unfurled banners reading “Trump Lies All The Time” and “Remove Trump”.

RIFLES SEEN IN PORTLAND CROWD

Hundreds of people have gathered for a Black Lives Matter “unity march” in Portland on election night, in solidarity with Washington state, California and Washington DC.

Attendees reportedly told KPTV in Oregon they’d hit the streets “no matter who gets elected” with journalist Breanna Kelly spotting “a number of people armed with rifles in the crowd”.

“This is an election like no other in our lifetime,” Governor Kate Brown said on Monday.

Downtown businesses boarded up in preparation for election-related violence.

“The thing that is the most concerning to me is the potential for armed clashes between opposing groups,” FBI Portland Special Agent Renn Cannon told AFP.

“That could escalate into a dangerous situation where – if tempers are heated – you could end up with an unfortunate or tragic act of violence.”

A man affiliated with a right-wing group was shot and killed in downtown Portland in August as Trump supporters and counterprotesters clashed on the streets.

The Tuesday night crowd shouted the names of people shot dead by police this year including Kevin Peterson Jr in Washington state, Walter Wallace Jr in Philadelphia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is also fighting for re-election, said there will be “no tolerance for any violence, intimidation or criminal destruction”.

TRUMP TOWERS SECURED

At least five New York Police Department dump trucks and a bus have been parked outside Trump Tower in Midtown, New York City with thousands of police “at the ready” for whatever unfolds on election night.

Access has also been blocked to the streets surrounding Trump Tower in Chicago.

CBS reports the Wabash Ave bridge near Trump Tower was raised about 6.15pm on Tuesday as a precaution, “in anticipation of possible civil unrest”.

Office of Emergency Management and Communications spokeswoman Mary May told the Chicago Sun Times it was shut down “as part of a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of residents”.

A barrier of sand-filled dump trucks were parked outside Trump Tower in NYC back in 2016 before Donald Trump was elected President.

In an update halfway through election day 2020, NYPD Chief Terence A. Monahan said there were “no major incidents to report across the city”.

“And we do not expect any as the day goes on,” he said on Tuesday.

Chief Monahan said officers had been posted at every polling location since before 6am.

“As the night goes on, we will continue to have thousands of additional cops at the ready,” he said.

“My message to anyone that wants to cause violence and destruction is don’t even try it, we know who you are and you will be arrested.

“For anyone who plans to peacefully protest in the coming days, we are here for you. But we need your help too. Let those who are trying to cause chaos know they are not welcome. Don’t let them steal your message, separate from those agitators and we will deal with them.”

ARMED MAN IN TRUMP HAT ARRESTED

A man has been arrested for trespassing in North Carolina after he allegedly voted and “continued to loiter” while legally carrying an unconcealed firearm on election day.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said they received a call regarding Justin Dunn “possibly intimidating other voters”.

The 36-year-old was wearing a camouflage pro-Trump hat and was not wearing a face mask.

BuzzFeed News reports Mr Dunn unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2016.

FBI INVESTIGATES SINISTER CALLS TO VOTERS

The FBI is investigating after voters in several states were swamped with mysterious robocalls telling them to “stay home and stay safe” on election day in the US.

The calls were reported in battleground states including Florida and Iowa, among others, while state officials in Michigan, Kansas and New York are also investigating.

Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel said residents in Flint were being told “due to long lines, they should vote tomorrow” – when the polls have closed.

“Obviously this is FALSE and an effort to suppress the vote,” she said on Twitter.

“No long lines and today is the last day to vote. Don’t believe the lies! Have your voice heard!”

Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer said the calls were attempting to “confuse voters” and voting queues across the state were “minimal and moving quickly”.

The New York Attorney-General Letitia James said “attempts to hinder voters from casting ballots by spreading misinformation is illegal and will not be tolerated”.

“That’s why I am actively investigating robocalls allegedly spreading disinformation,” she said.

A senior official with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency told CNN the FBI was investigating the “stay home and stay safe” calls and “they are tracking down this issue”.

“Robocalls of this nature happen every election and so I think what would be most helpful is repeating that message to the American public that … they happen every election cycle,” he said.

“Be mindful of people that are trying to intimidate you, undermine your confidence, but keep calm, vote on.”

An estimated 10 million automated calls have been made in recent days, according to The Washington Post.

The BBC reports one of the calls features a female voice saying: “Hello. This is just a test call. Time to stay home. Stay safe and stay home.”

RoboKiller vice president Giulia Porter said the call had been doing the rounds for almost a year – amid the coronavirus crisis in the US – but became one of the biggest spam calls in the country on Tuesday.

Voters social distancing in Des Moines, Iowa. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP
Voters social distancing in Des Moines, Iowa. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP

Janaka Stucky, a Massachusetts Democratic voter, told Reuters he got the call on election day.

“My first thought was that actually it was a municipal test call for a COVID lockdown thing,” he said.

“The more I thought about it I was like, oh this actually feels really off and weird and then started to feel like it was some sort of, maybe, voter suppression effort.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/us-election-fbi-probes-robocalls-urging-voters-stay-home-stay-safe/news-story/63d9d07bdebbedd61fc4b3f8c83101f3