President Donald Trump shared a video on Saturday encouraging supporters to join protests in Washington D.C. on January 6, which will be attended by members of the far-right Proud Boys group.
The 30-second clip, posted by the president to Twitter, touts the upcoming “March for Trump” protests as potentially the “biggest event in Washington D.C. history.” The planned demonstrations were organized in support of Trump, who lost the presidential election in November. Participants intend to demand that Congress overturn the election results in swing states, on the day that lawmakers are set to certify Electoral College votes, confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Several Trump allies are expected to speak at the events, including George Papadopoulos, a former policy adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, and Roger Stone, a longtime ally—both men were recently pardoned by the president.
Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys chairman, announced this week that members of the far-right group will also attend the events “incognito.”
“The ProudBoys will turn out in record numbers on Jan 6th but this time with a twist,” Tarrio said in a statement shared on Parler, a “free speech” social media platform. “We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams.”
Tarrio also teased that the group “might dress in all BLACK for the occasion.”
Thousands of pro-Trump Americans are expected to attend the demonstrations on Wednesday as Congress convenes to certify the electoral votes. Biden has secured 306 Electoral College votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win the presidency, but Trump, with 232 Electoral College votes, has refused to concede.
Since early November, Trump and his campaign have filed dozens of lawsuits in swing states seeking to reverse his election defeat. Virtually all of his efforts have failed in court, but the president has continued to claim that widespread voter fraud lost him the election to Biden.
The planned rallies and protests will see pro-Trump supporters marching around the Capitol, Washington Monument and Freedom Plaza. Online chats between members of far-right groups, conspiracy theorists and white supremacists suggest that violence involving guns could also break out at the events.
However, Trump has continued to promote the protests. On Wednesday, he tweeted, “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!”
Authorities have been preparing officers to ensure that the events are peaceful. Washington D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III told the Washington Post that “violence will not be tolerated.”
Newsweek reached out to The White House for comment.
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