Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is asking residents to stay away from the protestors and demonstrators who are expected in Washington D.C. Wednesday in support of Pres. Donald Trump’s “erroneous claims that the election was fraudulent,” he wrote in a statement.
While he stressed the right of everyone to protest, Elrich said he was joining D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to urge residents to avoid the demonstrations, because the protest organizers and groups “have shown an alarming affinity for violence,” he wrote in the statement.
“We have already seen in this country where this mix has proven toxic and can lead to violence. If there is an effort to disrupt the vote count, which would require an attempt to prevent the actual counting in Congress, there will be a confrontation. We do not want the police to be tasked with managing that confrontation along with confrontations between the two opposing protest groups,” Elrich wrote.
Elrich ended his comments with, “And let us hope that peace and human decency prevail at the end of the day. Please stay away, and please stay safe.”
I am joining @MayorBowser and other regional leaders in urging our residents to avoid demonstrations by protestors today and tomorrow. These are not ordinary times, and these will not be ordinary protests. Read my full statement: https://t.co/e9hfvqWEwm. pic.twitter.com/QgbjHQf1Jd
— County Exec Marc Elrich (@MontCoExec) January 5, 2021
