At least 20 people have been arrested after thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump took to Washington DC on Saturday to protest the result of the US presidential election, per the Associated Press.
Per CNN, the crowds included right wing and far-right groups, as well as smaller groups of counter demonstrators who gathered downtown and near the Supreme Court in support of President-elect Joe Biden's projected victory. The president has described Biden's win as fraudulent, without providing any basis for the claim.
Related: People think Hilary Clinton predicted Trump's reaction to the 2020 election:
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On Friday, Trump noted that the rally was due to take place in Washington Saturday and tweeted that he might even make an appearance.
"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 wrote.
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Per CNN, the president's motorcade passed cheering supporters on Saturday as Trump made his way out to play golf.
According to the Financial Times, while there was little violence or tension throughout most of the protests, police did intervene in the evening to break up skirmishes between the president's supporters and counter protesters.
The Associated Press reports that after nightfall, the largely peaceful demonstrations became violent, with videos on social media showing fistfights and projectiles as Trump supporters clashed with counter protesters. AP says that there have been at least 20 arrests and at least one stabbing.
While Trump claimed on Twitter that "hundreds of thousands" of people attended the demonstrations, news organizations in the US placed the figure much lower, in the thousands.
On Friday, Trump appeared to come close to acknowledging for the first time that he might not be in the White House come January.
As part of an address at the White House Rose Garden, Trump spoke about Operation Warp Speed, which is the American government's pandemic vaccine program. He also stated his administration will "ideally" not go into lockdown.
Mr. Trump said per ITV News: "Ideally we won't go to a lockdown, I will not go, this administration will not be going to a lockdown, hopefully."
Watch the address below:
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He added: "Whatever happens in the future who knows… which administration will be... I guess time will tell but I can tell you this administration won't go into lockdown."
It was also reported that Trump had tried to take credit for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine advancement, saying: "As a result of Operation Warp Speed, Pfizer announced on Monday that its China virus vaccine was more than 90% effective."
He continued: "Pfizer said it wasn't part of Warp Speed, but that turned out to be an unfortunate misrepresentation."
The pharmaceutical firm reportedly did not accept any government money to develop, test, or expand manufacturing capacity under the Warp Speed initiative.