CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Pro-Trump demonstrators lined the streets of the Nevada capital on Wednesday to protest the U.S. Congress as it started to count electoral college votes certified by states and sent to Washington.

Carrying signs that read “Stop the Steal” and “Voter fraud is treason,” a mostly maskless crowd chanted “We want freedom” and demanded federal lawmakers take action to prevent incoming president Joe Biden from taking office.

Julie Osburn of Reno, Nevada, said she had attended rallies at capital on most weekends since the election. She said Republicans and Democrats should “audit” the vote manually and insisted a path to victory remain viable for Trump if Congress took action.

“There’s huge election fraud and this election cannot be allowed to stand with fraud, because, if we have election fraud, we will never have another free and fair election again,” she said as cars honked and crowds cheered.

The protest was one of many in state capitals throughout the U.S. The congressional count is the last step in reaffirming Biden's 306-232 electoral college victory. Although Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposed efforts to reject state electoral college votes, A minority coalition of congressional Republicans challenged the procedure, citing Trump’s repeated charges of widespread fraud without evidence.

In Carson City, protestors broadcast Trump's National Mall speech on loudspeakers, in which he vowed to “never concede." They called for a “new Republican Party” and equated the vote count to treason.

___

Sam Metz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.