MIAMI – About two dozen Trump supporters gathered in front of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s residence in West Miami on Saturday to demand the senator challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory next week when Congress meets to formally certify election results.
In a joint statement published earlier Saturday, 11 Republican senators and senators-elect said they would vote to reject Biden’s win, a course of action they acknowledge is ultimately unlikely to overturn the results of the race. Neither Rubio nor fellow Florida Sen. Rick Scott were among the statement’s signatories.
At the West Miami gathering, protesters waved Trump flags and chanted “stop the steal.” One attendee could be heard screaming “we need a new party.” Another held a sign that read “Rubio we are watching you.”
The rhetoric of the speakers who addressed the group was an indication of how a perceived lack of loyalty to President Trump could emerge as an electoral threat to GOP politicians moving forward.
“We ask Sen. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio to listen to the people. You work for us,” said Proud Boys chairman and Miami resident Enrique Tarrio.
“If [Rubio] doesn’t not listen to us, he will pay. He will pay at the ballot box. If it wasn’t for us, none of [the senators] would have their seats right now.”
Tarrio also criticized other South Florida elected Republicans, including congressman-elect Carlos Gimenez and congresswoman-elect Maria Elvira Salazar, drawing boos from the crowd at the mention of their names.
“They’ve said nothing [about the election]. Stop voting them in.”
After longtime Trump ally and recent pardon recipient Roger Stone shared false claims of election fraud over the phone, Cubans4Trump co-founder Ariel Martinez addressed the crowd.
“I have fought tirelessly since 2016 for both Trump and advocating that we must vote Republican, saying the worst Republican is better than the best Democrat. Well I’ve got news for you: that’s changed,” he said. “It’s time for them to know that they have to fear us. They have to know that we are gonna push them out. It’s time for them to go.”
Martinez also urged Trump supporters to take active stances in support of President Trump’s extraordinary refusal to accept his election defeat.
“Sometimes we gotta be pacifists, but sometimes we gotta get shit done.”
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Trump supporters gather in front of Marco Rubio's West Miami home. 'You work for us.' - The Spokesman-Review
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