Thousands of Donald Trump supporters alleging electoral fraud converged on several US cities and towns on Saturday and there were isolated scuffles with counter-demonstrators.

In Washington DC, more than 20 people were arrested and four people were stabbed, police said.

Mr Trump lost the 3 November election to Joe Biden but is yet to concede.

The Electoral College, the system which elects US presidents, is due to endorse Mr Biden's victory on Monday.

Mr Biden won 306 votes to Mr Trump's 232 in the Electoral College, and gained over seven million more votes than his Republican rival in the popular vote.

In the nation's capital, police sought to keep the two sides apart, a strategy that included sealing off Black Lives Matter Plaza where counter-demonstrators had gathered.

Pro-Trump demonstrators, rallying under the banner of "Stop the Steal", were joined by members of the far-right Proud Boys, dressed in yellow and black, many wearing bullet-proof vests.

Mr Trump caused controversy by saying the group should "stand back and stand by" during a September presidential debate, though he later condemned "all white supremacists".

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As night fell, Proud Boys and Antifa counter-demonstrators, mostly separated by police lines, yelled insults at each other. But sporadic violence broke out.

The stabbings took place near the downtown Harry's Bar, but it was not clear which group those injured belonged to, according to the Washington Post.

Eight people were taken to hospitals, including two police officers, according to CNN.

Make America Great Again (MAGA) protesters, who support Mr Trump, were captured on video tearing down a Black Lives Matter sign from a church, pouring petrol on it and setting it alight.

On Sunday the Ashbury church pastor compared the actions to cross burnings.

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"Seeing this act on video made me both indignant and determined to fight the evil that has reared its ugly head," Rev Ianther Mills said in a statement.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionCounter-demonstrators were kept at a distance from Trump supporters by Washington DC police

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionFar-right Proud Boys made gestures symbolising white supremacy as they gathered near the Washington Monument

Rallies also took place in Olympia, the capital of Washington state, Atlanta and St Paul, Minnesota. Police in Olympia said one person had been shot and three arrested as rival groups clashed.

The Washington DC rally attracted several thousand Trump-supporters but it was smaller than a similar event on 14 November. Few participants wore masks despite Covid-19 restrictions.

There were speeches by Mr Trump's now pardoned former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, and Sebastian Gorka, another former White House official.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionMr Trump's pardoned former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, was among those making speeches

Mr Gorka urged the president not to give up his legal campaign - based on debunked allegations of electoral fraud - to reverse the election result.

The president's latest legal defeat came on Friday when the Supreme Court rejected an unprecedented attempt to throw out results in four battleground states which Mr Biden won. Mr Trump has now lost more than 50 cases linked to the election.

Cheers erupted as the presidential helicopter, Marine One, flew over the Washington rally carrying Mr Trump to the Army-Navy football game at West Point, New York.

The president had earlier tweeted his support.

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General Flynn likened the protesters to soldiers and priests breaching the walls of Jericho, echoing the rally organisers' call for "Jericho Marches" to overturn the election result.

That refers to a story in the bible where an army peacefully conquer the city of Jericho, which God has promised them, after marching around its walls for six days. It is considered symbolic of a test of faith.

The pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in DC responds to the burning of the church’s Black Lives Matter sign last night by people who appeared to be affiliated with Proud Boys.

“For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings.” pic.twitter.com/eX3aAE7qTJ

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) December 13, 2020