Supporters of US President Donald Trump rally in Beverly Hills, California
Credit: DAVID MCNEW /AFP
To chants of "this isn’t over" and “stop the steal”, supporters of Donald Trump gathered across the US over the weekend to cast doubt over the presidential election result.
In scenes which showed just how divided the country is over last Tuesday’s vote, supporters of Mr Trump turned up outside state Capitols in their thousands, some armed and many insisting that they would not accept the result.
The US president has himself refused to concede, arguing the electoral process was compromised by rampant fraud, leading to thousands of his supporters to call for a recount of the votes.
Many of Mr Trump’s supporters have taken his comments as a rallying cry and are using social media to organise mass protests in the most closely fought states.
One Facebook group, "Stop the Steal", attracted more than 35,000 members intent on organising events to delegitimise the electoral process before it was shut down by Facebook over "worrying calls for violence".
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, around 2,000 people, some armed and wearing camouflage gear, gathered outside the state Capitol after the Keystone state was called for Mr Biden.
"If we don’t stop this today, it’ll all be over," said 66-year-old Bruce Fields. "Otherwise we can kiss freedom goodbye."
At the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, a crowd of more than 1,000 expressed doubts that their state had tipped to Mr Biden, as the official vote count suggests.
Supporters and protesters of US President Donald Trump stand outside the Trump International Gold in Sterling, Virginia
Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS /AFP
"It’s very suspicious that President Trump, with the red wave we’ve been seeing in Arizona, is struggling," Kelli Ward, former state senator and chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, told the demonstrators. "I want to know if there is any discrepancy with the numbers coming out of the machines."
In Lansing, Michigan, about 50 Trump supporters and a smaller group of marchers carrying Black Lives Matter flags converged on the state Capitol, where several tense standoffs ensued.
In Atlanta, Georgia, several hundred protesters gathered outside the state Capitol to question the razor thin result which has given Mr Biden a surprise lead in the deeply conservative state.
Addressing the crowd, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a newly-elected congresswoman and a supporter of Q-Anon, declared "Georgia is not a blue state" as she vowed to fight alongside the president to overturn the election results.
The congresswoman cited social media and Fox News reports in support of her belief that the election was hijacked — repeating a conspiracy theory revolving around the use of black Sharpies on ballots in Arizona and allegations that Republican poll watchers had been barred from counts in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, a few hundred yards from where Ms Taylor Greene was speaking, crowds gathered in their thousands to celebrate the news that Mr Biden had become the president-elect.
"Welcome to Joe-rgia," read one sign, a reference to the fact that Mr Biden’s lead in the state suggests he will be the first Democrat to turn it blue in almost 30 years.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump rally in Beverly Hills, California
Credit: DAVID MCNEW /AFP
But while Mr Biden’s success in battleground states like Georgia and Pennsylvania has been down to building on Democrats’ dominance in urban areas, the election results have made clear that Mr Trump holds significant support in the country’s rural areas.
The country’s deepening divide is clear to see just an hour’s drive from deeply Democratic Atlanta, in places like Haralson County, where Mr Trump not only won 74 per cent of the vote, but improved on his 2016 performance.
In Buchanan, a town in Haralson County, many voters remain convinced that the election was not fairly fought, repeating Mr Trump’s claim that the vote was "rigged".
"Trump should be president again, he had a lot more support," said Cory Frost, a 27-year-old mechanic.
"Biden hid in a basement and didn’t even campaign, how could he have won [without foul play]?"
Mr Frost also echoed Mr Trump’s talking points about his opponent, expressing doubts over the 77-year-old Mr Biden’s ability to govern.
"You can see from watching him on TV and stuff that he’s in the early stages of dementia," he said.
Jamie Sanders, a 23-year-old who works in a manufacturing company, believed a more sinister motive was at play in Mr Biden’s selection as the Democratic candidate.
Supporters of President Donald Trump protest outside the Clark County Election Department in North Las Vegas
Credit: Ethan Miller /Getty Images North America
Mr Sanders predicted that Mr Biden would not last the gruelling four years in the White House, predicting his deputy Kamala Harris, whom Republicans have branded a "radical", would take the reins.
"They [Democrats] did that so they can take him out of office down the line and make Kamala Harris the first black female president," he said, adding: "She’s the dangerous one."
Bob Smith, the mayor of Watkinsville, another heavily pro-Trump town in Georgia, also believed the country’s election process was plagued with issues.
"I’m not going to name names but I’ve seen where people vote and they don’t live here," he said.
However, he predicted that Mr Trump would ultimately prevail when his legal challenges contesting the election result were heard, urging him not to concede before that time.
"I happen to think he’s going to succeed in this and be the next president," he said.
Regardless of the final outcome, Mr Trump’s supporters do not intend to silently fade away.
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