“Our volunteers are not naive to the environment that we’re in,” Tung said. “Obviously, they feel very strongly about making sure that we elect a qualified candidate, Kamala Harris, as the president.”
The altercation could foreshadow what’s to come as results stream on Tuesday night and throughout the week.
Law enforcement agencies and universities around the Bay Area are making preparations for political unrest, which is likely no matter which way the presidential contest goes.
Across the state, jurisdictions are already struggling to retain staff and calm tensions as “self-appointed election observers” with clipboards and notepads watch officials count mail-in and early ballots. In Shasta County, about half of the registrar’s 21 employees have quit over the hostile environment.
The 2020 and 2022 elections were met with mass protests from election deniers, and former President Donald Trump — along with many Republican representatives — still denies that he lost the 2020 presidential race. This time, he’s gone on the offensive about alleged election fraud, starting an “election integrity effort” and encouraging supporters to observe vote counting.
Various news organizations have warned that Trump’s remarks at closing rallies have laid the foundation for denying the results of Tuesday’s race.
Last week, he told a crowd in Arizona that the “only thing that can stop us is the cheating.” In Pennsylvania, he’s saying thousands of “fraudulent” mail-in ballot applications and voter registration forms have been sent in by a “third-party group.” He’s not said whether he will accept the election results.
For Mullen’s part, following a series of clips of Monday’s altercation, he posted on Instagram a photo with the caption “more tomorrow.”