Oregon Governor Kate Brown activated the state’s National Guard late Wednesday amid police reports of “widespread violence” and riots in Portland, where 11 were arrested, as demonstrators took to city streets including in New York, Seattle, Oakland, and Detroit, demanding that every vote from Tuesday’s presidential election be counted in full and without hindrance after President Trump falsely claimed victory, fraud, election rigging, and made numerous legal overtures to stop vote counting in key battleground states.
Oregon activates the National Guard following riots in Portland (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein) — ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEY FACTS
In Portland, where protestors had been seen Wednesday holding signs saying “Count Every Vote,” police declared a riot in the late evening following election day after demonstrators smashed windows of local businesses in the downtown area, with Multnomah County Sheriff tweeting 11 had been arrested while fireworks, hammers and a rifle were among items seized.
Governor Kate Brown deployed the National Guard, which had already been placed on standby and under the joint command of the Oregon State Police and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department.
Portland has been rocked by almost nightly protests for racial justice since the death of George Floyd this summer, with the city becoming a flashpoint in Trump’s “law and order” campaign messaging attacking protesters.
Other cities have also been struggling with violence in the aftermath of the election, with Reuters reporting 50 arrests in New York City as late-night protests broke out on the night after Americans took to the polls.
TANGENT
In Arizona, Pro-Trump protesters gathered outside the Maricopa County Elections Department overnight, as tensions mount over a tight race in the county that, as of Thursday morning, Biden is winning by a slim margin, but that Trump won in 2016. The Arizona race hinges on Maricopa’s result, a state that the Associated Press has already called for Biden.
KEY BACKGROUND
Unrest had been expected, and virtually guaranteed, in the aftermath of Tuesday’s presidential election, especially if a winner could not be called on election night or a candidate refused to accept the result. Retailers across major U.S. cities boarded up their shopfronts in the days leading up to Tuesday, in anticipation of unrest. Both of these circumstances have been realized, with Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, frequent claims of the election being somehow fraudulent and rigged against him, and at least three lawsuits attempting to stop vote counting in key states driving up the risks of unrest.
FURTHER READING
City Business Across U.S. Brace For Election Day Unrest, Board Up Storefronts (Forbes)
Trump Supporters Protest At Key Arizona Vote Counting Center As Biden’s Lead Erodes (Forbes)
Trump Challenges Georgia Mail-In Ballots In Third Battleground State Lawsuit Of The Day (Forbes)
I am a London-based reporter for Forbes covering breaking news. Previously, I have worked as a reporter for a specialist legal publication covering big data and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech, and health. I have a master’s degree in Biological Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow me on Twitter @theroberthart or email me at rhart@forbes.com
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