:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/0805281c-1f2f-11eb-a9cb-0217670beecd.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Protests in US after no winner | Abroad")
During election night, large-scale unrest did not materialize, although this had been taken into account. Several states had National Guard troops on standby and entrepreneurs slammed the windows of their shops for fear of violence.
Observers think the unrest is now growing as votes are still being counted and some groups are disputing the results. On social media, far-right groups are calling to confront left-wing protesters, sometimes with violence. President Trump, meanwhile, alleges that attempts are being made to “steal the election.”
In New York, Washington and Los Angeles, the left-wing group Protect The Results is organizing more than 100 protests. They insist on fair elections. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Central Park, New York, chanting “count every vote.”
People are protesting in the streets of Boston calling for a new political party and system. They express their dissatisfaction with both political candidates.
Ⓒ Dutch Height / AFP
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“I don’t really want to be here, I just want to live my life,” said a 59-year-old carpenter at a protest in the city. “But if the president is trying to undermine every vote and have votes invalidated, you have to do something.”
Rival protest groups have also gathered on the streets of Detroit, Michigan. While one group calls for the counting of votes to be stopped, the other calls for every vote to be counted. A number of protesters entered a convention center where votes are being counted and chanted “stop counting.”
Biden got the majority of the vote in Michigan, CNN predicts. Trump’s campaign team said earlier in the day that it wanted to stop the counting of votes in the state through the courts. Trump narrowly won in the state four years ago.
Local police in Oregon announced on Twitter that at least eight people have been arrested in downtown Portland after a riot broke out. Hundreds of anti-Trump protesters and police officers faced each other after shop windows were smashed. The state governor mobilizes the National Guard to assist the police.
New York police took more than 30 people into custody, partly because rubbish was set on fire and thrown with garbage. Minnesota state police also arrested protesters. They ran on the highway in the city of Minneapolis. In the city of Pittsburgh, in the potentially crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, three people were arrested in protests.
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