A photo of a lone Donald Trump supporter standing in front of the New York State Capitol during the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday has gone viral.
Mark Leggiero—from the Montgomery County town of Florida in New York state—drove 45 minutes to the state's capital city of Albany to protest the inauguration after Trump spread false claims of a stolen election, according to Spectrum News reporter Morgan Mckay.
Leggiero showed up wearing a Trump-branded long-sleeve jersey and holding a Trump flag with high hopes of joining thousands of other protesters.
However, he was disappointed to learn the protest was for a party of one.
Spectrum News reporter Morgan Mckay tweeted:
"Mark Leggiero is the one lone Trump supporter out in front of the NYS Capitol. He says he expected a few thousand ppl here and is disappointed. He said he drove 45 minutes for a peaceful protest."
Leggiero told The Daily Gazette photographer, Peter R. Barber:
"I was coming out to hopefully join a bunch of peaceful protesters in supporting the cause, that's almost a lost cause now, unfortunately, I'm sad to say."
Leggiero said he was not into politics before Trump took office.
He maintained Trump had a strong influence on his life.
He stated Trump will "always be my President."
"He gave me spirit he gave me pride, he wanted me to live free."
Newsday's Michael Gormley posted a picture of Leggiero up close and wrote:
"Mark Leggiero,28, is lone Trump supporters at the Capitol in Albany before noon, looking to hold a peaceful demonstration. 'I'm looking for more patriots.'"
You can see Leggiero in an interview here:
Twitter weighed in with their thoughts after looking at the photos of the solo Trump supporter.
However, the photos also elicited some empathy for Leggiero.
After being lied to continuously for years—being told what you want to hear—returning to reality is difficult.
Located as part of the Empire State Plaza complex on State Street in Albany, the State Capitol has been fenced off with barriers since the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead.
The FBI subsequently warned of possible "armed protests" at all 50 State Capitol buildings leading up to Biden's inauguration. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have been prepared for more violence.
Fortunately, January 20 was a day for celebrating as all the bluster about further violence died out after arrests began in earnest after the storming of the United States Capitol by Trump supporters.
@badgalriri/Instagram