A chaotic scene erupted in Michigan on Wednesday as protesters converged on a vote-counting location after President Trump’s campaign filed suit to halt the process.
Video clips posted on Twitter show dozens of people chanting “Stop the count!” outside the TCF Center in Detroit.
An unconfirmed report said some protesters described being sent to the TCF Center by unidentified Republican “contacts.”
Conflicting, unconfirmed reports also said both that the tabulation had been suspended and that it was expected to be finished by 6 p.m.
In a statement earlier Wednesday, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the president’s political operatives have “not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.”
“We have filed suit today in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted,” Stepien said.
“We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access.”
Michigan is one of the three swing states that gave Trump his margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Another, Wisconsin, went for Joe Biden, according to projections by several news agencies on Wednesday.
Stepien said Trump’s campaign would demand a recount of the votes cast in the Badger State, citing “reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results.”
The third state, Pennsylvania, isn’t expected to complete its count before Friday, based on a recent Supreme Court ruling that says it can accept mail-in ballots until then.
