Jan. 6 (UPI) -- As a mob of President Donald Trump supporters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, smaller groups gathered at nearly every state capital across the country to protest the 2020 presidential election.
The local demonstrations were largely peaceful, unlike in Washington, D.C., where one person died from a gunshot wound, and multiple officers were injured.
Scuffles broke out at the Sacramento, Calif., state Capitol, between two groups of demonstrators, city police said. Most of the crowds were dispersed.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock ordered all city buildings closed early Wednesday after about 700 people gathered at the Capitol, which is in the vicinity of City Hall, and the New Mexico Statehouse in Santa Fe was mostly evacuated.
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Most business was also halted at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem and the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City, and the Texas Capitol grounds were closed in Austin.
The Virginia State Capitol was evacuated and barricaded and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger evacuated the state capitol after apparent militia members gathered outside the building in Atlanta.
Most, if not all, state capitol closures and evacuations appeared to be out of caution, not in response to an active threat.
In Connecticut, three groups gathered outside the Capitol -- those opposing COVID-19-related restrictions, those opposing child vaccination legislation and those protesting the 2020 election. Members of the so-called Proud Boys joined demonstrations in Florida, Indiana and Ohio.
WTOL-TV said Trump supporters clashed with police outside the Ohio Statehouse.
In Kansas, demonstrators received permits allowing them inside the Capitol building in Topeka. In Nevada, there were protests at both the Capitol building in Carson City and the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse in Las Vegas.
Counter-protesters gathered across the street from pro-Trump demonstrators outside the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh.
Demonstrators also gathered at state houses in Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.
Gatherings ranged in size from a few dozen to hundreds of people seeking to have the 2020 presidential election overturned. They've been bolstered by baseless claims made by Trump of election fraud -- much of which has been rejected in court.
