That day, the MDP unveiled their new flag. It was almost exactly like the flag of the Old Republic, but it included stars for every region and state the radicals believed were "rightful Union land." The number of stars varied greatly, and some were downright ridiculous, with the version with the most sporting 50 stars. Maps were another common MDP propaganda tool, showing North America "the way it should have been and will be."
Finally, the election began on December 10th, 1890. The winner would not be announced until the day before Christmas Eve (Remembrance Day). Commander A. A. Lincoln, Chief of the Military Police, was to announce the winner at Independence Hall. When that day came, Burr III and Custer were present to hear the results, with thousands of followers.
Lincoln announced that Aaron Burr III had won by a mere 1% of the vote. Enraged, Custer stormed out, insisting that he was the rightful winner. Riots broke out all across the country and the government was on the verge of collapse as Custer proclaimed himself "Anticonsul." The eccentric general began a literal "March on Philadelphia," and he made it known he was going to overthrow Burr. On New Year's Day, 1891, Custer's "blueshirts" and some employees of his mercenary company arrived outside the capitol building, facing off against Burr's loyalist soldiers. Following a 30-minute gun battle, Custer personally led his men in a storming of the domed palace and seized Aaron Burr III and Second Chief Consul Andrew Wilkes. He was removed from power and thrown in prison on a dozen charges. He was convicted of election fraud, bribery, blackmail, and extortion. Oddly, these charges were true for once, and Burr was extremely corrupt. Custer actually
had won the election, by 68%.
Blueshirt troops face off against Burrite rioters outside of Philadelphia
Immediately upon Custer taking power, several prominent government officials turned up dead. The most important was Commander Lincoln, who was found outside of his house with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. The MDP denied any involvement and said that Lincoln was a great man. Anarchists, the old reliable scapegoat, were blamed instead. Local tavern owner and businessman Hiram Grant, Burr's most ardent supporter in Shicagwa, was found in his residence hanging in his attack in "an apparent suicide."
Custer proclaimed himself First Chief Consul on January 15th, 1891. William Jennings Bryan entered the office of Second Chief Consul the following week after the capital was secured by the R.U. Army and the Burrites had been locked up.
The new constitution was adopted just two months later, with all the changes Custer had promised. One section that was a surprise, however, was the fact that he had integrated his Custer's Company army into the government as the "Office of Racial and Religious Affairs," abbreviated ORRA. He also had the government pass bills purchasing airships from the Goodyear Air & Rail Company. These ships would be flown exclusively by the Office of Racial and Religious Affairs to patrol the Canadian, Louisianan, and Southron borders.
Thousands and thousands of men would now be a part of ORRA in effort to stamp out "religious heresy, blasphemy, and dangerous cults," as well as doing what Custer's Company had done for years: track down and move Inferiors into ghettos and the "stubborn" Inferiors into the Ohio region's reeducation camps. Beginning in 1892, ORRA's "aerforce" started paroling the Canadian border. "Runners" (those who tried to escape to French Canada) found themselves under attack from the sky. Snipers would stand on platform on the sides of the vessels and fire at the "traitors" down below. Escapes by Inferiors into Canada fell 90% in the time between 1891 and 1893. ORRA was just beginning its campaign of terror, and it would go well into the next century.