The threat of violent groups flocking to state capitals on Sunday in a series of demonstrations prompted governors to make a massive show of force and impose tight security measures on parliamentary seats across the country.
Fences, window boards, and lines of police and national guards transformed the look of the legislative chambers in the face of planned demonstrations ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
The security measures were intended to protect government headquarters from the kind of violence that occurred on January 6 in the United States Capitol, where a mob that supported the president, Donald Trump, stormed the building when Congress was certifying the votes of the president. Electoral College.
The FBI has warned of the potential for an armed protest in the federal Capitol and all 50 state capitols beginning this weekend. Some messages on social media announced marches for Sunday, although it was not clear how many people could attend.
Security in Washington DC has been tightened before the inauguration ceremony. High fences surround the Capitol, the National Mall area has been closed to the general public, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia has asked people not to visit the area. Some 25,000 National Guardsmen from across the country were scheduled to arrive during the week.
In the different states, some authorities said they had no concrete indications of demonstrations, much less violent. However, many state authorities promised to be prepared just in case. They said they did not want the massive assault on the Capitol to be repeated, in which a Capitol police officer and four other people were killed. Dozens of officers were injured.
More than a third of the governors had asked the National Guard to help protect state capitols and assist local security forces. Several governors declared a state of emergency and others closed the capitols to the public until after the inauguration.
In addition, some state legislatures canceled their sessions or reduced their activity for the next week for security reasons. Texas was one of the states that closed its capitol compound until the inauguration.
“The Texas Department of Public Safety is aware of the armed protests planned this week at the Texas State Capitol, and violent extremists who may seek to exploit constitutionally-sanctioned acts to carry out criminal acts,” said Steve McCraw, Director from the agency.
More than 100 officers in riot gear were deployed to the Capitol in Austin this week as lawmakers opened a new legislative session.
Even before the violence at the federal Capitol, some state headquarters had been the target of vandals and angry protesters in the past year.
Last spring, armed protesters entered the Michigan Capitol to oppose coronavirus quarantines and clashed with police. People outraged by the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer squeezed his neck with his knee for several minutes, vandalized in state capitols including Colorado, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.
And just last month, a crowd in Oregon made their way to the state capitol in Salem protesting its closure to the public during a special legislative session on coronavirus measures.
Faced with the possibility of violence next week, the windows on the first floor of the building were covered with planks and the National Guard was deployed. The legislature was scheduled to open its 2021 session on Tuesday, although much of its initial tasks were postponed for at least two days due to warnings of possible violence.
“The State Capitol has become a fortress,” said Oregon Senate Speaker Peter Courtney, a Democrat. “I never thought I would see this, it breaks my heart.”
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Associated Press reporters Sara Cline in Salem, Oregon, and Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.
