WASHINGTON (AP) - Fervent supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade in adulation when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town.
Hours later, demonstrators favoring Trump clashed in the streets with counter protesters, videos posted on social media showing fistfights, projectiles and clubs. By early evening, police had arrested at least 10, including four on firearms charges and at least one stabbing, the Washington Post reported.
A week after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, demonstrations in support of Trump also took place in other cities. Upset at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating.
"I just want to keep up his spirits and let him know we support him," loyalist Anthony Whittaker, of Winchester, Virginia, said from outside the Supreme Court, where a few thousand assembled after a march along Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza, near the White House.
A broad coalition of top government and industry officials has declared the Nov. 3 voting and the following count unfolded smoothly with no more than the usual minor hiccups.
In Delray Beach, Florida, several hundred people marched, some carrying signs reading "Count every vote" and "We cannot live under a Marxist government." In Lansing, Michigan, protesters gathered at the Capitol to hear speakers cast doubt on results that showed Biden winning the state by more than 140,000 votes. Phoenix police estimated 1,500 people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to protest Biden's narrow victory in the state.
The crowd in Washington was beginning to gather Saturday morning when cheers rang out as Trump's vehicle neared Freedom Plaza. People lined both sides of the street, some standing just a few feet away from Trump's vehicle. Others showed their enthusiasm by running along with the caravan.
They chanted "USA, USA" and "four more years," and many carried American flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally. After making the short detour for the slow drive around the site, the motorcade headed to the president's Virginia golf club.
Among the speakers was a Georgia Republican newly elected to the U.S. House. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories, urged people to march peacefully toward the Supreme Court.
The marchers included members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group known for street brawling with ideological opponents at political rallies.
The march was largely peaceful during the day before turning tense at night, with multiple confrontations as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.
In a pattern that kept repeating itself, those Trump supporters who approached the area were harassed, doused with water and saw their MAGA hats and pro-Trump flags snatched and burned, amid cheers. As night fell, multiple police lines kept the two sides apart.
The "Million MAGA March" was heavily promoted on social media, raising concerns it could spark conflict with anti-Trump demonstrators, who have gathered near the White House in Black Lives Matter Plaza for weeks.
In preparation, police closed off wide swaths of downtown, where many stores and offices have been boarded up since Election Day. Chris Rodriguez, director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the police were experienced at keeping the peace.