A lone Donald Trump supporter looks around forlornly at a protest against Joe Biden’s inauguration that end up being a huge flop. Mark Leggiero, 28, was the only demonstrator to turn up at New York State’s sealed-off capitol building in Albany on Wednesday afternoon.
Leggiero says he drove 45 minutes to protest peacefully, and expected to see at least a thousand other Make America Great Again fans in attendance. Speaking to local reporter Michael Gormley, Leggiero said: ‘I’m looking for more patriots.’
But his plea went unanswered, as fears of violence from pro-Trump protesters at state capitols across the US failed to materialize. Politicians including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were in the building at the time to watch Biden being sworn-in, but the proceedings were closed to the public, and kept under heavy guard.
The US Capitol in Washington DC was guarded by 20,000 servicemen and women as Biden was sworn in – the biggest ever security operation for a presidential inauguration.
It came two weeks to the day after the deadly riots there, which saw hundreds of Trump supporter storm the building as Joe Biden’s election win was being certified by Congress.
Four protesters and a police officer died in the ensuing carnage, with Vice President Mike Pence and other lawmakers rushed to safety.
President Trump faces an upcoming impeachment trial for allegedly inciting the riots, and will be banned from running for office again if he is convicted.
He became the first US president in almost 160 years not to attend his successor’s inauguration, instead catching an early morning Air Force One flight to Palm Beach in Florida.
The former president now intends to reside at his Mar-a-Lago country club in West Palm Beach.
President Biden will attend a televised event later this evening, in place of the usual inaugural gala, which has been scrapped because of Covid.
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