Editor’s Note: This piece was written prior to the riots and the insurrection attempt that occurred on January 6, 2021.

Since the 2020 election, President Trump and his supporters have claimed mass election fraud is to blame for former Vice President Joe Biden’s win. In protest, hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters have gathered nationwide to contest the authenticity of election results in mostly peaceful protests. 

Trump, who made claims before the election of potential mass voter fraud, is determined to uncover what he believes to be massive voter fraud in multiple states. The biggest concern of Trump and his supporters is the large number of mail-in ballots that were utilized in this election. In previous elections, nowhere near the amount of mail-in ballots were used. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic plaguing the world, many voters deemed mail in ballots to be their safest option to avoid potential transmission of the virus at voting stations. 

The Trump administration is currently involved in multiple lawsuits with a number of states, Pennsylvania and Georgia being the most targeted at the moment. So far only minuscule wins have occurred for his team, and no state or county has flipped electorally in his direction as a result. 

In support, Trump supporters have organized multiple rallies and protests. These protests have popped up in many major cities, most notably in Washington D.C.. They have gone by several names to include, Stop the Steal, Million MAGA March and March for Trump. During these protests many, but not all, have ditched masks, concerning city officials fearing covid-19 surges. No direct or verified data is available at this time to contact trace covid to these rallies, but undoubtedly some protesters will catch the virus . These names have been used repeatedly in protests nationwide. Just as far-left and right extremists attended the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year, both attended these protests as well. These groups include but aren’t limited to, the Proud Boys, white supremacists, multiple militias, violent factions of BLM, Antifa and others. 

In DC, as thousands gathered for the Stop the Steal protest just last Saturday, an immense amount of Trump pride could be noticed. Streets were filled with Trump hats and flags, many decked out head to toe, much like diehard sports fans do. Chanting, praying and even speeches by congressional members occurred. Within not just the D.C.  protests, but others as well, counter protesters showed up and in mostly isolated incidents violence ensued. 

On the night of Saturday, December 12 in DC, 33 people were arrested and four were stabbed as a result of heated clashes between the two sides of protestors. In a photo taken by an NPR contributor, a counter protester is pictured screaming at police, “Why are you protecting them?” as police attempt to separate the two sides from each other. 

At some point earlier in the day a local pastor at a historically Black church showed that a BLM sign placed outside his church was vandalized by an unnamed group of pro-Trump supporters attending the rally. It is believed they were members of an extremist group but the pastor refused to name them to avoid giving the group any air time. 

As our divided nation edges closer to a change in power in the new year on January 20th,  there will be many more protests. DC police have already requested more funds in preparation for the potential inauguration chaos and the national guard is on alert. Trump, who has agreed to a peaceful transition after a long period of waiting, has still yet to concede from the election, still passionately pushing his legal teams and showing love for his supporters.  While most cases have been settled with little to no result in favor of the Trump campaign, investigations are still in the works and the lawsuits that aren’t thrown out are being heard. For now, it’s looking grim for Trump’s legal teams. Nonetheless, his supporters have sworn to rally in support both pre and post-inauguration.