US election 2020: 'Bad things happened' - Trump makes new unfounded claims of electoral fraud
The president's claims - which he made without offering proof - came in a series of tweets that were quickly flagged by Twitter.
Saturday 7 November 2020 18:54, UK
Donald Trump has fired off a barrage of tweets with unfounded claims about electoral fraud - including that tens of thousands of votes were illegally cast - as his rival Joe Biden edged closer to victory in the race for the White House.
In a series of posts on Saturday, the US president alleged that "bad things happened" inside counting rooms and "legal transparency was viciously and crudely not allowed" at counts in key states, including in Pennsylvania where Mr Biden is leading.
In one tweet, Mr Trump wrote in capital letters: "I won this election, by a lot", prompting Twitter to issue a warning about the post which said: "Official sources may not have called the race when this was tweeted."
US election 2020: Follow live as Joe Biden becomes the next US president
Since election night, the president has consistently claimed underhand tactics have taken his leads away - without offering any proof.
Following his latest allegations, he said a "big press conference" will be held in Philadelphia at 11.30am (4.30pm UK time).
Twitter flagged several of Mr Trump's claims, saying: "Some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process".
It came after he had posted: "Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8pm on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states.
"As a separate matter, hundreds of thousands of votes were illegally not allowed to be OBSERVED."
Mr Trump alleged - without offering evidence - that "this would ALSO change the election result in numerous states, including Pennsylvania, which everyone thought was easily won on Election Night, only to see a massive lead disappear, without anyone being allowed to OBSERVE, for long intervals of time, what the happened".
The president continued his tirade, tweeting: "Bad things took place during those hours where LEGAL TRANSPARENCY was viciously & crudely not allowed.
"Tractors blocked doors & windows were covered with thick cardboard so that observers could not see into the count rooms. BAD THINGS HAPPENED INSIDE. BIG CHANGES TOOK PLACE!"
Following Mr Trumps latest claims, Federal Election Commission commissioner Ellen Weintraub insisted there is "no evidence" of voter fraud in the US.
"There is no evidence of any kind of voter fraud," she told CNN. "There is no evidence of illegal votes being cast.
"In fact, and you don't have to take my word for it because people throughout the country, nonpartisan election experts, have come out and hailed this election and how it was run."
Armed protesters continue to gather outside offices where workers are counting votes, including some with shotguns, handguns and military-style semi-automatic rifles.
There have been no reports of anyone getting shot, and the laws in Arizona, Nevada and Michigan - where guns have been seen outside vote-counting centres in recent days - allow people to openly carry firearms in public.
The delay in producing a verdict in the election can be attributed to high turnout, a massive number of postal votes and slim margins between the candidates.
The president earlier tweeted that he had "such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by," although it was well known that votes cast before Tuesday were still being legally counted.
Senior Republicans have stepped in to warn that the baseless allegations of mass fraud will lead to "destructive and dangerous passions" running high, and urged for vote counting to continue.