Three days before Joe Biden was officially projected to win the presidency, a group of at least 150 Donald Trump supporters some of them armed militia members assembled in the parking lot outside the Maricopa County Recorders Office, convinced the fix was in.

Nevermind that Fox News had called Arizona for Biden. Leaders of the AZ Patriots militia raged about Sharpiegate , a debunked conspiracy theory spread by Trumps adult sons. Far-right activist Mike Cernovich barreled in from his home in Southern California to lead the crowd in a Stop the Steal chant and to lend his massive Twitter platform to the effort to delegitimize U.S. democracy.

But among the crowd peppered with extremists some of whom may have violated local laws and intimidated election officials who continued to count ballots was a member of Congress known for peddling disinformation and bigotry. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz) played a key role in amplifying the rally only days after he easily won reelection in Arizonas neighboring 4th Congressional District.

Were fighting to the bitter end, Gosar told the crowd , speaking through a megaphone. This is our Alamo.

Earlier in the evening, AZ Patriots members had barged into the elections center , looking for nonexistent evidence of fraud. Maricopa County Sheriffs Office deputies politely escorted them out. Years of falsehoods from Trump and his right-wing propagandists had conditioned protesters to believe disinformation about a rigged election. And to hate the media.

Predictably, they soon turned their wrath on local television reporters there to cover the results, shouting profanities and fake news at them.

When Kim Powell, a reporter for the local CBS affiliate, arrived at the protest just before 8 p.m., protesters targeted her immediately. One Trump supporter yelling fake news approached Powell from behind in an effort to get on camera. Powells security guard blocked him. The protester then threatened to find where Powell and her cameraman live. He returned to the crowd and began pointing out the reporter to other people, according to Powell. Soon, five men began circling her and her cameraman, glaring at them. The journalists left, fearing for their safety.

It almost felt like we were being circled by hyenas, Powell told HuffPost. Her cameraman recorded footage of the initial harassment and filed a police report.