COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Congress reconvened on the floor to finish counting the electoral votes Wednesday night, cities are recovering from a day of protests — and not just in Washington D.C.
While a scene of chaos unfolded at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, demonstrations turned violent in Ohio at the Statehouse as Trump supporters skirmished with counterprotesters at a "Stop the steal" event.
A video recorded by a protester that was shared with Spectrum News captured the brawling.
It shows several forceful face punches and shoving between the groups.
Officers with bicycles broke up the clash as the demonstrators continued to shout at each other, the video shows.
Pro-Trump protests stemmed from the Capitol building, to Columbus, to other major cities across the U.S. In Washington, protesters stormed the steps of the Capitol building, broke through windows, and attempted to stop the vote. At one point, Capitol police were at a standoff in front of the doors to the House floor. Congress members had to be moved to a secret location for a few hours as police cleared protesters out of the building.
The scene at the Capitol was soon reflected across America. Hundreds of people gathered in state capitals nationwide to oppose President-elect Joe Biden’s win, waving signs saying “Stop the steal” and “Four more years.” Most of them didn’t wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, and some carried guns in places like Oklahoma, Georgia, Arizona, and Washington state, but most demonstrations were peaceful — some of them quite small — and only a few arrests were reported.
Demonstrators sang “God Bless America,” honked horns, and wrongly announced on a megaphone that Trump was the rightful election winner, despite Biden winning the election with a large margin of votes.
Many Republican governors who backed Trump during the election spoke out again the protests, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
"This is an embarrassment to our country," DeWine said. "The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted. The stopping of the count of the Electoral College votes has occurred because the security of the U.S. Capitol has been breached by a violent mob. As a nation of laws, this is simply not acceptable. Lawlessness is not acceptable. This is an affront to our Constitution and everything we hold dear."
In Washington, throughout the evening, officers were able to clear the grounds and push protesters back, allowing Congress members to get back on the floor to finish counting the votes. They expect to be done before the sun rises Thursday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.