Updated Monday at 6:10 p.m. CST
Hundreds of people who don't accept that President Donald Trump lost in Wisconsin showed up for a rally Saturday at Serb Hall on Milwaukee’s south side. The event was held in the parking lot amid a sea of flags and signs that read “Trump 2020” and “Make America Great Again.” Organizers asked participants to help in a possible recount in Wisconsin.
Only a few people in the crowd wore masks and no one was practicing social distancing. The rally broke up after a man representing Serb Hall took to the podium and ordered the crowd to disperse. He had told participants that they needed to put on masks and sit at the tables that had been set up — otherwise, they would be asked to leave. The spokesman said officials from the City of Milwaukee were on the premises and he didn’t want Serb Hall to lose its license.
The crowd then moved out of the parking lot and on to Oklahoma Avenue and blocked traffic. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinelreports that there was a brief struggle, ending with Serb Hall's general manager on the ground, where he says he was kicked by Trump supporters.
On Monday evening, a spokesperson for the city of Milwaukee said four citations were issued to Serb Hall “for health order violations of capacity limits, mask requirements, social distancing, and attendees not being seated.” The spokesperson added, “Other actions against Serb Hall are under review.”
At Saturday's rally, there were about 15 counter-protesters, including Milwaukee community activist Vaun Mayes.
Mayes stood in front of a van sporting a “Black Lives Matter” banner, and said he’s convinced that Democratic President-Elect Joe Biden defeated Republican Trump fair and square. “People voted and then he won. If they watch the news, they’ll see the results. Biden won more states, and his number is past what he needed now,” he said.
Mayes thinks a recount in Wisconsin would turn up the same margin of victory for Biden. “He’s still going to win,” he said.
Unofficial results show Biden beat Trump in Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes, or just more than a half a percentage point, and Trump has signaled he’ll ask for a recount in the state.
Before the crowd dispersed, conservative radio host Vicki McKenna told the cheering Trump supporters that in addition to a recount, she wants an audit in Wisconsin. “This election was stolen. Period. Period. Period. We need to know how, and we need to know by whom, and we need to have people in handcuffs,” she said.
McKenna alleged that massive voter fraud occurred in Wisconsin, including what she called illegal ballot harvesting and people casting ballots using the names of dead voters. However, Wisconsin's elections chief Meagan Wolfe has said there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, fraud or irregularity in the state's presidential election.
As counties work to wrap up certifying their votes, Wolfe said Thursday that nothing unusual has come up during the county certification of the votes.
Another person who spoke at the rally was former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who now speaks at conservative events across the country. He said he’s felt intimidated the past four years, being a Trump supporter.
“We couldn’t put a Trump bumper sticker on our car because it made it a target for vandalism. We couldn’t put a Trump sign in our yards because it would be stolen or damaged,” he said.
