Clarification: Hillary Clinton in 2016 conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump on Election Night, Nov. 8, 2016. It was Green Party candidate Jill Stein who requested a recount in several states who later dropped the bid. Some House Democrats also objected to the results during the official Electoral College vote tally in January 2017. Then-Vice President Joe Biden did not entertain any of the objections.
The story has also been updated to reflect a police report filed in connection with a pig head being thrown at the supporters.
It is the policy of West Hawaii Today to correct promptly any misleading or incorrect information when it is brought to the attention of the newspaper.
About 20 supporters of President Donald Trump took to the streets again Saturday following Wednesday’s events at the U.S. Capitol, displaying flags and waving to passing motorists at the corner of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Palani Road in Kailua-Kona.
“We’re here to support freedom,” said Alohi G., one of the demonstrators at the weekly event, said about the group’s message to the community. “We know from information that has come out about Joe Biden, that he is compromised by the Chinese government. We’re here to fight for our president. To fight for an election that was stolen.”
Alohi G. pointed to graphs from when polls closed election night that showed a 100% spike to make up the 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania.
“We’re just here fighting for our freedom. We’re here fighting for my kid’s freedom for when they grow up so they don’t have to grow up in a socialist communist country because I don’t think that benefits anybody,” he said.
Though inauguration of the president-elect is set for Jan. 20, Alohi G. said Trump hasn’t conceded yet, just that there was going to be a transition of power. The group denounced the violence that occurred Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, but said they will not believe Biden is president until they witness the inauguration.
“I think there is still a chance,” he said. “I have faith in God and I believe good triumphs over evil.”
Although he said he has no idea what will come after Jan. 20, with Biden in the White House, he expects vaccine passports, lockdowns, more mask mandates and “communist tactics.”
“You can see them already. There’s going to be more communist/socialist tactics, more free money, more businesses closing down,” he said.
Another supporter pointed out that after Trump’s 2017 inauguration, Hillary Clinton supporter’s hashtag was resist and Clinton challenged the Electoral College votes and wanted recounts.
“We weren’t against that,” he said. “We are down for a fair audit of all fair votes.”
He said this time around, Trump’s supporters are the bad guys and that is unfair.
“If we’re not out here showing people that support Trump that they’re not alone, he’s not going to get a fair shake,” he said.
“It’s unfair four years of these investigations never bore any fruit,” said Alohi G. “All we want now is a fair audit and a forensic audit, which could be done in a matter of days, but now all of a sudden we are being called anti-democracy. We are not anti-democracy, we just want a fair shake. We don’t want to give Biden four years of witch hunt investigations, we just want freedom of speech and transparency and freedom in general.”
The group, which has been demonstrating for weeks in support of the outgoing president, has seen a mixed reaction from the public. Some honk in support, others shout obscenities or give them the “finger.”
“We also had some guy come here and drop pig guts and a pig head here in front of some elderly women and children,” Alohi G. recalled about an incident a few weeks ago.
West Hawaii Today received photos from the alleged incident, as well as a copy of the police report filed on Dec. 12, 2020, listing the incident as a “nuisance.”
One demonstrator said he believes in America, we don’t need to agree on everything and we don’t always need to get along but we need to respect each others right to have a position.
“Right now, we feel as Trumpers we’re not given a fair shake,” he said. “We love everybody. We did a toys for tots drive because no one else was doing it. We brought to the Salvation Army who was so thankful. We brought them over $5,000 worth of toys for the kids.”
The group also mentioned that after the rally they were headed to Old Kona Airport Park to do a beach clean up.
“We love our community. We love our country. It’s all about love,” said Alohi G. “There’s a lot of hatred that comes off the street sometimes, and that’s your right. This is still America. You take it with a grain of salt and you move along. You’re not going to get to everybody but you are going to give some people hope and that’s good enough for me.”