Protesters in cars, on bikes and on foot are expected to caravan around the White House on Thursday morning and demand that all votes cast in the 2020 election get counted. News4’s Justin Finch reports.
Carrying signs saying "count every vote" and "we are watching," several dozen protesters circled the White House Thursday morning, closing streets as they demanded that all votes cast in the 2020 election get counted.
Protesters in cars, on bikes and on foot planned to caravan around the White House grounds Thursday morning to “make as much noise as possible in support of our right to vote,” the organization ShutdownDC said.
"It does appear the votes are being counted. That's good. We want to encourage that," one bike rider told News4.
Shutdown DC was joined by 350 DC and DC Bike Party in planning the multi-modal demonstration, which brought groups out as early as 7 a.m. Participants were invited to join by Zoom if they couldn't come in person.
Within two hours, D.C. police began to close some streets in the area.
A flatbed truck blasting music carted around demonstrators calling out slogans from bullhorns, stopping occasionally on the street.
"Every voice matters. Just do your part and don't let anyone discourage you," another protester said.
Police broke up the rally at one point at H and 15th streets, but there weren't reports of major stops or skirmishes.
The demonstration came as President Donald Trump makes baseless accusations of fraud and pursues lawsuits over the vote count in critical states.
Drivers gathered at Madison Drive NW in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Bikers met up at Freedom Plaza, and marchers at Black Lives Matter Plaza.
Several roads were closed during the demonstration by D.C. police.
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Although they traversed the roads around the White House, the group wasn't able to get too close.
Security was ramped up around the White House in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election. Parks flanking the complex were closed and a “non-scalable” fence was installed.
Since Tuesday afternoon, demonstrators have gathered at Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street near the White House to watch election results and demonstrate.
Those rallies have been largely peaceful, although police have arrested a handful of people. Chief of police Peter Newsham said Wednesday that he was pleased with how calm demonstrations had been, with only a handful of clashes.
