Pro-Trump Protestors Gather in Denver

While national news broke yesterday that the capitol building in Washington D.C. had been breached by an angry mob of protestors, a smaller, less enraged crowd gathered at the capitol of Denver as well. An estimated 700 individuals assembled on the lawn of Colorado’s capitol building on Wednesday, protesting what they believe to be a stolen election.

Congress was tasked with tallying and certifying the electoral college votes, a process which was halted by a mandatory evacuation of both the House and Senate as several thousand protestors forced their way into the building. The rally which sparked the siege on the capitol was led by none other than President Trump, who spoke to protestors just before their mile-long march down Pennsylvania Ave.

Colorado Representative Diana Degette released the following statement:

“Today, the president of the United States instigated a riot and urged his supporters to lay siege to the U.S. Capitol Building to try to prevent us from certifying the election for his opponent. Make no mistake: This was not a protest, it was an attempted coup. And I never thought I’d see the day that our own president would attempt to bring down our government because he lost an election.”

Throughout the day, President Trump continued to validate the violent intersection via comments on social media. Both Twitter and Facebook have since suspended his accounts and blocked certain tweets from being liked or retweeted due to “a risk of violence.”

Meanwhile, in Denver, city officials closed their offices as well as downtown COVID-19 testing sites, early as a precaution. The protests, however, remained mostly peaceful. ABC Denver reports that three individuals were arrested during Wednesday’s protest. Those individuals were charged with, disturbing the peace, possession of a taser, and assault.

Mayor of Denver Michael Hancock tweeted that city officials were “monitoring closely the situation” in Washington as well as the smaller demonstration being held in Denver. “My hope is that this situation will be resolved quickly,” Hancock tweeted.

The rioters in Washington achieved little more than stalling the inevitable as election results were certified by congress in the early hours this morning. President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on the January 20, 2021.