Trump supporters are set to clash with the president’s detractors in the streets of Washington this weekend in competing rallies.
As President Trump continues to dispute Joe Biden’s apparent electoral victory, plans for a series of pro-Trump events have sprung up throughout the city. The most prominent is the “Million MAGA March,” which is set on Saturday to walk from the Supreme Court to the White House in a show of support for Trump’s election battle.
The eponymous Twitter account organizing the event, which picked up more than 10,000 followers this week, claims the event will “go down in the history books as the moment America stood up against a corrupt system!” The march has been promoted by a number of online right-wing figures. Washington police stated that organizers have not filed for a permit to hold a rally this weekend.
In response to the “Million MAGA March,” a local antifa group, Everybody Out D.C., announced a counterprotest, entitled the “F— MAGA March.” Organizers advised attendees to wear black and stop Trump supporters trying to “attempt a coup.”
Another pro-Trump event planned for Saturday, “The March for Trump,” also met resistance when organizers tried to promote it online. Amy Kremer, the co-founder of Women for Trump, reported on Tuesday that Eventbrite shut down attempts to list the march on its website because it contained “potentially harmful misinformation.”
Kremer said that, despite the apparent cancellation, the march is still on and that “we cannot let them shut us down.” Organizer Chris Barron stressed that the demonstration is not affiliated with any of the many other pro-Trump events planned for the weekend.
The march, Barron told the Washington Examiner, is intended solely to urge the president to refuse to concede the election. Barron announced Friday that it will feature appearances from Reps. Paul Gosar and Mike Kelly, and incoming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, all of whom have been vocal supporters of the president’s claims.
Another event, using the popular catchphrase “stop the steal,” is also planned for Saturday and, like the others, surfaced through a series of posts on Twitter. It comes after a week of “Stop the Steal” events hosted in most major cities by ardent Trump supporters. The movement, driven nationally by former Missouri Republican Chairman Ed Martin, aims to force Republicans to “step up” and back Trump’s allegations of election fraud.
Last week, in front of the Republican National Committee, Martin called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to be more vocal in their support of the president. On Wednesday, he held a similar event in front of Fox News’s Washington offices, demanding the network be more favorable to Trump in its coverage of the election. Martin told the Washington Examiner that he plans to continue spreading his message at the Saturday event.
Trump on Friday tweeted that he may appear at one of the rallies.
“Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may even try to stop by and say hello,” he said.
While the election for many Trump supporters remains undecided, some members of the Biden camp are worried that pro-Trump demonstrations will overlap with the Biden inauguration.
