BLM and a group known as ‘Count Every Vote’ has called on Trump to concede defeat, staging rallies Wednesday in major cities including Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle, demanding that the count of mail-in ballots continues unabated. In Portland, the city which has witnessed widespread protests since the summer, a riot was declared, prompting Oregon authorities to activate the National Guard.
Shut Down DC, a protest group created in 2019, and which has the self-described goal of “making plans to rise up to confront the Trump administration’s attacks on democracy,” is calling on protesters in the capital to gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza across from the White House, and is urging them to “keep showing up and keep supporting each other until the people swear in a new government”.
A separate group known as the Sunrise Movement made plans for Trump’s overthrow before the election even took place, with a since deleted video of a purported leaked Zoom call by organisers encouraging protesters to “shut down the White House,” and publishing a “target map” including key government buildings, media outlets, police stations.
Suggesting that they were “facing and an administration and a potential coup and a political insurrection,” ‘protest consultant’ Lisa Fithian told organizers that in the event of a crisis, the goal was “to make sure it’s one that we are creating. We want them to be responding to us and us not responding to them. In a situation of a coup or an insurrection or an uprising, whoever’s got the guns, often can win. We should be clear. Trump’s gotta go,” Fithian added.
Over 100 events have been planned between Wednesday night and Saturday by more than 165 grassroots organizations, unions and advocacy groups across the country.
Election Battle Heading to the Courts
The spate of protests began on election night, after the Trump campaign indicated that the incumbent was on track to a second term.
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