While attention was focused on the far-right insurrection Wednesday in Washington D.C., nationalist protests aimed at overturning election results also took place in states across the country. As in D.C., violence and breaches of government property also occurred in several instances. Also, like the insurrection at the Capitol Building, far-right groups were a staple at the local events, including a multitude of Proud Boys.
To date, the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights research team has been able to document forty-five insurrectionist rallies in thirty-two states on the day of the D.C insurrection.[1]
In Atlanta, George Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger and his staff were evacuated from the state capitol after about 100 protesters, some armed, gathered to protest the election outcome. Raffensperger had become a focal point of far-right hostility after his office certified Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump and the president had threatened him if he did not produce additional votes to change the outcome. At one point in the day, Chester Doles, a one-time Klan leader and founder of the American Patriots USA roamed the Georgia capitol building in search of Raffensberger.
The New Mexico statehouse in Santa Fe was “largely evacuated” as some five-hundred Trump supporters protested the election results, though no violence was reported.
Several hundred protesters gathered at the state capitol in Olympia, Washington. Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, himself facing felony riot charges, was among the speakers at the event while others present included at least one Qanon conspiracist. Some were armed and a group later descended on the Governor’s mansion, breaking through the gate and rallying outside the front door. Several of these far-rightists were also armed with assault rifles, at least one sporting an Oath Keepers patch. One individual present stated, “I think it’s time to give violence a chance,” according to the Seattle Times. Throughout the day people in the group repeated the themes of the COVID-19 insurrection alongside the Stop the Steal message. This also occurred at other protests throughout the day.
Among the two-hundred protestors in Columbus, Ohio, there were at least twenty Proud Boys. One Proud Boy was filmed punching an African-American man in a video posted by the Columbus Dispatch. Police were videoed standing by and watching as a fight broke out between Proud Boys and counter-protestors. One pro-Trump protestor waved a Three Percenter flag and at least one individual was reported carrying an AR-15 rifle.
Proud Boys were also reported at protests among the “at least 100” gathered in Tallahassee, Florida, where conflicts were broken up by police. Armed Proud Boys were reported among some two-hundred pro-Trump protestors in Salt Lake City, Utah. These armed racists were “seen escorting people who did not share their views out of the area,” according to KSLTV. Proud Boys appeared at a protest in Lansing, Michigan where “more than a dozen” of the pro-Trumpists were reported to be armed. One person carried dolls in the likeness of Barrack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton hanging by the neck. Proud Boys were also reported at the protest in Denver, Colorado.
Proud Boys were among the rally of about one thousand Trump supporters in Sacramento, California. Three Percenters and other militia members were also present. Eleven people were arrested for possessing pepper spray in Sacramento and opposing sides clashed. As ABC Action News 30 reported, “Proud Boys followed counter-protestors away, and at one point, police surrounded the anti-fascists and pepper-sprayed them.” No more details were reported. Proud Boys and armed far-rightists were also present at a pro-Trump rally in Salem, Oregon.
Far-right paramilitary figure, anti-Muslim bigot, and Washington state representative Matt Shea spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Spokane, Washington that was reportedly attended by dozens. Several hundred Trump supporters attended a Boise, Idaho rally organized by Maga girl and attended by John Birch Society leader Tom Munds of Caldwell. At the event, Munds suggested that attendees join far-right paramilitary figure Ammon Bundy’s organization, People’s Rights, according to the Idaho Press.
Among those at a pro-Trump rally in Austin, Texas were armed men with signs declaring “Kill a commie for mommy,” “Hang traitors,” and “Exterminate communists,” according to the Texas Monthly. Another waved a sign with the COVID-19 insurrectionist and antisemitic theme that “maskism is Naziism.” Another attendee suggested that Texas secede from the union and a car drove by with a sign declaring “We Are All Kyle Rittenhouse” sign, a reference to the teenager facing felony murder charges for shootings at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August.
About two-hundred pro-Trumpists gathered in Topeka, Kansas. No conflicts were reported and the group entered the Kansas statehouse with a permit. About one-hundred protesters were reported at an “Operation Occupy the Capitol” event in Des Moines, Iowa, mixing both Stop the Steal and COVID-19 Insurrectionist messages.
In San Jose, California about eighty people, many associated with the “Vietnamese Movement for Trump,” held a protest near the Grand Century Mall.
Armed protestors were present in Carson City, Nevada. One protestor in Carson City carried a sign declaring “American Revolution 2021” and another waved a Three Percenter flag. At least one-armed protestor was present at a pro-Trump rally at the state capitol in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protestors later marched to the governor’s mansion, though no conflicts were reported.
About 15 Proud Boys were reported present at a pro-Trump rally in Columbia, South Carolina attended by about 200. Others present included Qanon supporters and leaders of the Republican Liberty Caucus of SC and Overwatch USC.
About 1000 Trump supporters were reported at a rally in Oklahoma City, a “handful” of them armed. About 75 protestors showed up in Springfield, Illinois, some waving Women for Trump placards; meanwhile, the Chicago Republican Party held a small event, one waving a sign declaring, absurdly, that “THIS IS A DRY RUN FOR COMMUNISM,” a common theme at many of these events.
About 200 attended an event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at which the capitol doors were locked.
Several events of varying size were also held in Montana, including in Helena (100 people), Kalispell (50-75), Missoula (100), and Billings (40-50), according to the Montan Human Rights Network.[2]
Hundreds were reported at a rally in Jefferson City, Missouri and members of the Southwest Virginia Tea Party organized a rally in Abingdon, Virginia. About a thousand Trump supporters were reported at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.
Protests to overturn the election results were also reported in Indianapolis, Indiana, Doral and Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, and Huntington Beach, California. And events were announced on Facebook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wickenburg, Arizona, Bradenton, Florida, Burleson, Texas, Pontiac, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi.
Other events were likely organized as well. Events in Washington D.C. and across the country give a glimpse of the coming far-right, bigoted, and violent opposition that can be expected to grow during the Biden presidency as the new administration rolls out its policies.
NOTES
[1] In order to obtain a quick assessment of the scope of far right insurrectionist events held January 6, this article is based on searches on Google, Facebook and Twitter and limited conversations with our allies. It almost certainly underestimates the number of events that occurred. Estimated crowd sizes are also largely drawn from press accounts that lack any uniformity or explanation of crowd size estimating methodologies. IREHR estimates listed in the database accompanying this article are based on the methods that follow. This is done in an attempt to avoid overestimating the crowd size, but to use figures based on commonly understood definitions of terminology used to modify crowd size estimates in the press. As such, these are rough estimates that posses an unknown degree of uncertainty. This is, however, an attempt to make the numbers we use as clear as possible. Method: 1) If a specific crowd size estimate is given, or an estimate is given and qualified by terms such as “about” or “approximately” or “estimated” that number is used; (2) if terms such as “hundreds” or “several hundred” is used, 400 is used as per LSAT Quantity Terminology at https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/lsat-quantity-terminology.cfm. This source defines “several” as “three or more, and the term “hundreds” is taken to be largely indistinguishable from “hundred” modified by “several.” (3) if the term “at least” and a number is given, it is assumed to be higher than the number given and this formula is used: Low estimate = number given, High estimate = n*120% (1.2). The Best estimate is taken as the sum of High and Low estimates/2 (4) If “dozens” issue used, a conservative estimate is based on the common meaning of plural (2 or more) and Meriam Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dozen) where “dozens” means “an indefinitely large number”). To avoid overestimating this taken as the average of the low estimate of 24 (2 dozen in the basic meaning of plural) and a high estimate of 120 (10 dozen, a seemingly large number of dozens). This results in an estimate of 84.
[2] The Montana estimates are based on an interview with staff at the Montana Human Rights Network.
