PHOENIX, Ariz.—Marisa Dawson tapped hard on her faulty car horn, hoping to make noise—and hoping to make a difference as a participant in a “freedom convoy” to protest Maricopa County’s midterm election results.
“My horn’s broken—otherwise, I'd give a honk,” said Dawson, then poking her head through her open window and blowing a piercing whistle in the middle of downtown traffic.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Dawson said.
On Nov. 18, Dawson and over a dozen other conservative voters drove around Maricopa’s government and election offices in Phoenix, waving flags and honking horns to demand a new election.
“We are patriots. We love this country. We need to save this country. It starts here. It starts today,” Dawson told The Epoch Times.
An anonymous flyer billed the “Maricopa Honkening” rally similar to the Canadian truck convoy protesting mandatory COVID-19 vaccines earlier this year.
The flyer, sent on social media, included a map of the convoy route and what to expect from law enforcement. Mostly, it aimed to dispel fears of another Jan. 6 type reaction.
“The organizers always get targeted,” the flyer said. “So this is an attempt at distributed organization. We, the people, are the organizers, and we hope many other groups hold similar events in many other locations.”
But “if you let the Jan. 6th Commission strike so much fear that you are sacrificing your constitutional right to peacefully protest, then the communists have already won.”
Several rally members told The Epoch Times they believe that widespread problems with tabulation machines on Nov. 8 disenfranchised thousands of voters in Republican-leaning precincts.
County officials estimate problems with tabulation machines affected 20 percent or more of Maricopa voting sites. Ballots that were unable to be counted on the spot, numbering in excess of 17,000, went into a separate box for later counting at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) in Phoenix.
Dawson said the only solution is an election do-over.
“We need an immediate forensic audit—a revote, recount, whatever. One person. One vote,” Dawson said.
From noon to 3 p.m., the convoy proceeded continuously around the MCTEC, the county board of supervisors building, and the Arizona state capitol building.
More than a dozen cars and pickup trucks took part in the protest, flags waving and horns blaring, including packs of motorcycles and two electronic billboard trucks proclaiming “One Day. One Vote.”
Police and sheriff’s deputies were in force throughout the rally, along with uniformed officers in unmarked cars.
“I’m sure they’re taking license plates—and I don’t care. Let them,” said Dawson, a longtime Maricopa County resident whose mother was Jewish.
“It’s getting to be Nazi Germany. You want to get Nazi on this Jew? Oh, don’t,” said Dawson, an Air Force veteran and grandmother of five. “I’ve got a lot to live for.”
In front of Dawson’s vehicle were three large flags mounted in the bed of a pickup truck, the driver crying, “The election was a fraud!” over a bullhorn.
“That’s why we’re circling the [MCTEC] building. We are the wagon train circling to save the people and this state. We need to,” Dawson said.
Holly McNorton of Maricopa County, cradling her pet “Patriotic Chicken,” said the rally was to bring attention to voters who feel cheated and ignored by the system.
“We’re making it visible. It’s not like a Million Man March or anything,” McNorton said. “I hope it will inspire people not to give up and know that others feel the same way.
“The media is not reflecting a true image of the thoughts and opinions of the people of Arizona,” she added.
McNorton said she’s been protesting documented election fraud since 2020. Through social media, she’s been able to stay in touch with like-minded people for mutual support.
“I think there were some shenanigans” in the 2022 midterm election, McNorton told The Epoch Times. She said this is why she no longer trusts the people in charge of Maricopa’s elections—or the counts.
“We hope this rally kicks off additional protests and rallies,” said Mike, another rally participant, who drove a big pickup truck with a flag and a handheld radio at his side.
“Now hear this! Now hear this! Stand by for heavy roll!” a man’s voice exclaimed over the radio. “All right, here we go.”
Mike’s truck lurched forward to make another loop around the county and state buildings amid a chorus of honking horns.
Though most passersby seemed curious or uninterested, others waved as the convoy passed.
“It’s just a very organic thing,” Mike told The Epoch Times about of the convoy. “The people of Arizona are fed up with this election.”
The most important thing about the rally, Mike said, was exercising his constitutional right to free speech and assembly.
“We’re not doing anything against the law. We’re on public roads,” Mike said. “All peaceful, all positive.”
Mike then noticed a trio of sheriff’s deputies standing next to a parked cruiser, watching the convoy go by.
He leaned on the truck’s horn, and waved.
“They’ve been waving at us. They’re having a good time. I think they’re bored,” Mike said.
Friends Read Free