There was no repeat of the rowdy 2020 protests at the Maricopa County Election Command Center and Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said his deputies made sure of that on Saturday.
About 50 people showed up around noon outside the fence at the elections building near Third Avenue and Lincoln Street, which is north of Buckeye Road.
Some of the protesters wore ballistic vests and carried guns. Others had American flags and held up signs that said, “Kari Lake Won,” “Count The Votes,” and “Hobbs is a Cheat.”
“I realized that election integrity is the most important thing to this state, to our nation, and to the world,” one protester said.
Penzone said more security was sent out to the area just in case things escalated and the rally got violent. However, everything remained peaceful and ballot counters inside continued their job. One person was checked out for heat exhaustion but no one was hurt, Penzone said. The protest dispersed after about an hour.
B.C. Begley 