Maricopa sheriff mobilized multiple armed response teams to protect 2020 vote from Trump supporters

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone feared violence would be inflicted by angry supporters of Donald Trump following the 2020 election according to a new report in the Arizona Republic.

The in-depth report focuses on the origins of the Arizona election audit in Maricopa County.

"After the quick call for Biden in Arizona on Nov. 3, raucous protesters gathered outside the building where Maricopa County officials counted ballots. By then, some Trump supporters suggested — falsely — that election officials provided them Sharpie pens that could bleed through their ballots and eliminate their votes. It was a conspiracy theory amplified in conservative circles, including by Eric Trump, the president's son," the newspaper noted.

Sheriff Penzone took action to protect election workers.

The newspaper explained, "Mindful of the deadly clash in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, Penzone put several armed response teams inside the building and had dozens of other deputies in the area on standby 'to protect the systems, the ballots, the people — everything in there.'"

Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes also worried about violence.

"It was in my head that there would be casualties. It was in my head that we would have to be cleaning blood out of the warehouse because they were ready, they were armed. ... They came to assault my staff," he explained.

Read the full report.