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On Jan. 6, 2021, roughly 500 Trump supporters rallied in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul for approximately four hours to protest President-elect Biden’s electoral victory. The group included members of anti-government networks the Three Percenters and the Boogaloo Bois, as well as Republican state representatives Susan Akland, Eric Lucero, and Steve Drazkowski.
While the protest in St. Paul remained peaceful, it was happening concurrently with the attack on the Capitol in Washington. As the crowd in Minnesota learned that Vice President Pence refused to intervene to reject Electoral College votes, it booed loudly and then erupted into cheers and laughter with news about members of Congress running to take cover as violent protesters stormed the building.
Organizers from the group Hold The Line called the event “Storm the Capitol.” Some demonstrators were dressed in colonial-era garb and compared the moment to 1776, saying they were ready for battle. Later in the day, remaining protesters marched to Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s residence, where state troopers evacuated his teenage son for security reasons.