FREDERICKSBURG, Texas – A crowd of more than 100 people gathered in front of the Gillespie County Courthouse in Fredericksburg Wednesday in support of President Donald Trump.
The crowd held flags and signs as they watched Trump’s speech in Washington D.C. and the debate in Congress over the tallying of electoral college votes. Unlike the scene in D.C., though, the rally in Fredericksburg remained peaceful.
Attendees, however, were just as adamant in their belief of widespread voter fraud, despite election officials and the U.S. Attorney General saying there was no evidence of it.
The rally was the result of a combination of two separately scheduled events. One, organized by the Fredericksburg Tea Party and another, by Rozanna Sasko, who said she and her husband had placed an ad in the newspaper.
Though both Sasko and Matt Long, the president of the Fredericksburg Tea Party who also has a radio show on the Hill Country Patriot radio station, shared opinions about the election results, they appeared to have differing views on what would come next if the electoral vote count process didn’t go the way they hoped.
“We never condone any violence,” Long said. “And so, we will retreat and take a look at what’s going on and make our decisions from there.”
Sasko, however, said “if things don’t happen with this, then, well, it is our duty in our Constitution, and it is our duty, according to the Declaration of Independence, to take our country back —by any means necessary. Today, it’s a peaceful rally, as you can see.”
The event, which started at 11 a.m., was winding down at about the same time chaos in the U.S. Capitol was escalating.
KSAT reached Gillespie County Democratic Party Chairwoman Cathy Collier by phone after Vice-President Mike Pence was taken from the Senate chamber and both chambers were locked down.
Collier said she was concerned about what might happen in Washington D.C., but did not expect issues in Gillespie County should President-elect Joe Biden take office as expected.
“Most people in Gillispie County are reasonable and intelligent, and they know what the facts are,” Collier said. “There may be people who don’t want to believe it, but I think - I have more faith in the intellect of people in Gillispie County.”