WASHINGTON — Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir was at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Nov. 5, 2020, to help tally the votes of the recent presidential election.
But something else was brewing that day.
Sabir told USA TODAY law enforcement officials were alerted that armed individuals from Virginia were going to drive to Philadelphia to allegedly "straighten" out the election.
When the men, supporters of former President Donald Trump Joshua Macias and Antonio LaMotta, arrived near the convention center in a vehicle with handguns, they were immediately apprehended.
"We basically kept going on...because we knew that there was a duty that had to be done, and so I wasn't going to be unwavered by that," Sabir said. "As I reflect back now, that's like kind of crazy that... some (weapons) were actually a stone's throw from where you were at just completing the job."
He recalled how his inbox was filled with a “constant barrage of threats," even ahead of the November 2020 election.
His office also received a chilling call in September 2020 from a man who threatened to use the "Second Amendment" against Democrats and other officials. In the days leading up to Nov. 3 election, Sabir said his behavior changed.
"I had to sleep in different places," Sabir said. "I couldn't come home. My home was under police protection. So it didn't just affect me or my family. My neighbors were concerned. It was life transforming."
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