Demonstrations outside Georgia Capitol follow Senate runoff election

ATLANTA – Demonstrators set up outside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday to show their anger toward the results of the Senate runoffs and the presidential election.

“We the people are now being told to sit down and shut up after we have watched the most blatant act of fraud ever committed in our state election,” said Chester Doles, a demonstrator.

Doles and other self-proclaimed patriots had a list of demands for lawmakers to overturn the results. Several protesters wore tactical gear.

The secretary of state was escorted out of the building under heavy security because of threats. The elections manager, Gabriel Sterling, left too, but stopped to speak with News4Jax. We asked if he still had full confidence in the state’s election system.

“Absolutely,” Sterling responded. “This is the most secure election we’ve seen in Georgia.”

Just miles away, there was a much quieter scene at MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Raphael Warnock preaches.

“I feel so excited right now. This is such a historic victory,” said Britney Porter, a voter.

RELATED: Warnock, Ossoff win in Georgia, handing Dems Senate control

Democrats Warnock and Jon Ossoff won both Georgia Senate seats. The twin victories end nearly two decades in which Democrats have been shut out of statewide victories in Georgia.

“I came all the way from Boston just a canvas you know. For these two candidates,” said Hamidou Seck, a Democratic canvasser. “I feel amazed about it. I feel really, really happy. It’s a great day for the state, for the country. It’s a great day for the Biden-Harris ticket.”

Warnock, who served as pastor for the same Atlanta church where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. preached, becomes the first African American from Georgia elected to the Senate. And Ossoff becomes the state’s first Jewish senator and, at 33 years old, the Senate’s youngest member.