Within hours of President Trump finally admitting on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden won — a factual admission that the mercurial sitting president predictably walked back as he continues his refusal to concede — a pro-Trump caravan descended on the homes of Bill and Hillary Clinton and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in New Castle, New York.
According to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News on Sunday evening, dozens of Trump supporters blasted music, honked horns, shouted through megaphones and carried pro-Trump flags as they walked past the Clintons’ and Cuomo’s residences. Signs read: “Cuomo sucks,” “Expose the corruption,” and “Dead people don’t vote!”
Chelsea Clinton tweeted on Sunday evening that Trump supporters were outside of her parents’ residence chanting “lock her up” — a phrase that the President has egged on since the 2016 cycle when he ran against his Democratic rival and has recently appropriated during campaign rallies when attacking Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
There are Trump supporters outside my parents’ house shouting through megaphones “Lock Her Up,” and I just keep thinking, I hope they’re wearing masks and some day get over 2016.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) November 15, 2020
Town of New Castle chief of police James Carroll told TPM in a phone interview on Monday that no arrests were made and that there were approximately 100 vehicles and about upwards of 300 people who were in front of the Clintons’ and Cuomo’s residences on Sunday evening.
Carroll said that the crowd was in front of Cuomo’s residence at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday and departed approximately at 5:30 p.m. ET.
When asked about where the vehicles were coming from, Carroll told TPM that they’re suspected of coming from Staten Island.
The Rockland/Westchester Journal News reported that town police and state troopers had parked on the street of Cuomo’s residence as the pro-Trump caravan passed by while waving flags with Trump’s name on them.
Jana, a resident of Westchester County who told TPM on Monday that she is withholding her last name due to safety concerns, recalled her fears upon witnessing the pro-Trump caravan passing by the Clintons’ residence while waving flags with Trump’s name on them.
Jana said she was in the car with her 7-year-old daughter while passing through Chappaqua on her way to picking up take-out food. Jana said that she told a police officer at the scene that “it wasn’t safe at all” to drive through. Additionally, she said her young daughter was “scared,” which prompted her to roll up the window and keep driving.
Upon returning home, Jana recalled telling her husband that the scene was “terrible” and that she saw Chelsea Clinton’s tweet on the incidence that confirmed her fears.
“I cannot even believe that people are doing this, you know? So this woman — she’s not the president. Yeah, she’s a private citizen,” Jana said, referring to Hillary Clinton. “I mean, it’s, it’s horrifying, actually.”
Jana added that “it was a pretty upsetting scene.”
“It’s like, you know, these people coming from wherever they’re coming, whether it’s local or, you know, it’s it’s just scary,” she added.
Jana stressed that the scene was “much more horrifying” compared to the “peaceful” Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year, and that she fears that more of these types of gatherings will happen in the future.
“I do think that it’s going to happen in the next however long, you know, until things settle down, if they ever do between between sides,” Jana said, before adding that it’s “absolute insanity” and that “it doesn’t help the fact that (President Trump is) up there encouraging this type of behavior.”
Dawn Greenberg, a resident of Chappaqua and founder of the Chappaqua Friends of Hillary in 2015 when the former secretary of state announced her candidacy for president, echoed Jana’s concerns to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News.
Greenberg said that the scene was “incredibly distressing” and that she is “sad for the Clintons.”
“I feel like they can’t win. I feel like they’re being targeted. Of course the secret service will keep them safe,” Greenberg said. “I just think it’s beyond the pale. It’s like, where are we going with this? It just keeps getting ratcheted up more and more emotion. It makes me sad and scared at the same time.”
