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Ryan W. Miller
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Jordan Culver
| USA TODAY
State capitols increase security amid threats
State captains across the country have increased security, highlighting National Guard units, SWAT teams and extra police amid security concerns after last week’s US Capitol violence. (January 14)
AP
WASHINGTON – National Guard troops are arriving in Washington, DC and capitals across the country on Sunday, as Americans prepare for possible violence before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
National Guard troops are arriving in Washington, DC, and capitals across the country. On Sunday, law enforcement officials warned that protests planned across the country this week by supporters of President Donald Trump, who falsely believe he won the election, could explode in violence. Just 11 days ago, many protesters broke the windows and invaded the United States Capitol, clashing with the Capitol police. The clash was blamed for five deaths, left parts of the sacred building in ruins and raised questions about police preparedness and response.
USA TODAY is monitoring protests and security issues in the district and across the United States. Keep updating this page for updates.
Handan Gencogluer, 60, came from McLean to DC with a friend to tour and see the extent of security on Sunday. “It’s sad. This must be a happy time,” she said, watching the parties and celebrations of previous inaugurations. Gencogluer was not much concerned with violence: “” Now they are ready, at least the good guys. “
Gencogluer, an immigrant from Istanbul, said she watched the violence in horror last week. She had friends texting her to see if she was safe, even though she was in the suburbs. She described watching the news as if she were watching the TV show “Designated Survivor”.
“I am an immigrant here and one of the things that brought me here is that this is a country by law,” he added. “It’s scary that at the top he was trampled.”
Police in Washington, DC, arrested a man from Virginia who allegedly tried to pass a security checkpoint with an “unauthorized” possession credential, a pistol and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, officials said. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal, Virginia, was released on his own bail after a hearing on Saturday. The Associated Press, citing a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that Beeler had a valid credential for inaugural events, although it was not issued by the government.
Beeler told the Washington Post that “it was an honest mistake”. He said he worked as a security guard in downtown Washington and forgot that his firearm was in his truck when he left his home in Virginia.
“I stopped at a checkpoint after getting lost in DC because I’m a country boy,” he said. “I showed them the opening badge that was handed to me.”
Around the US Capitol on Sunday, barricades protected buildings while members of the National Guard patrolled the terrain and SUVs blocked the streets. To enter Pennsylvania Avenue, the public needed to enter security tents with luggage checks and metal detectors. The police even flipped through the pages of the reporters’ notebooks. Barricades blocked any path towards the Capitol, several blocks in front of the terrain.
Kamieh Hendley, 21, of San Diego, was in Washington for the first time since elementary school. She was surprised by the increased security, but was not too concerned about the violence on Sunday morning.
“It’s kind of a shock to see it all,” she said. “If it gets hard, I’ll go home.”
Biden served as a Delaware senator for more than a quarter of a century, but Governor John Carney is not assuming that his state will be immune to pro-Trump protests. Carney activated the National Guard to help state and local authorities maintain peace, if necessary. A 6-foot-high fence was built around the Legislative Hall and traffic was restricted. Delaware Capitol Police said Capitol buildings “will be protected and citizens can expect an increasingly visible presence from law enforcement.”
– Nick Siano, Delaware News Journal
A wide range of Washington, DC, was in virtual confinement on Sunday as the nation prepared for protests before President-elect Joe Biden took office. More than 25,000 members of the National Guard are on site or going to the city. The National Park Service closed the entire National Mall, a 2-mile panorama that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial on the west end to the Capitol in the east. More than a dozen urban train stations have already been closed, and the historic city center has been divided into a “red zone” for authorized vehicles only and a “green zone”, allowing only vehicles for residents of the area.
Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged the difficulties that the blockade creates for many companies that are already struggling because of the pandemic. “We know this is very inconvenient,” said Bowser. “Clearly, we are in unknown waters.”
The United States Postal Service temporarily removed blue mailboxes in some areas of major cities and state capitols as a security measure in more than a dozen states before the inauguration, the USPS said. Boxes have also been removed around the US Capitol.
“It is part of our normal procedures to keep our employees and customers safe during times of protest or when large crowds crowd around the post office, on post office routes or at mailboxes.”
►O Texas The Department of Public Security announced the closure of the state capitol on Friday after discovering new intelligence information that prompted the agency to further tighten security.
► O Kentucky The Capitol grounds in Frankfort will close on Sunday after “threats of domestic terror against state capitals across the United States,” announced the administration of Governor Andy Beshear.
► Michigan, who was the target of armed anti-lockdown protesters earlier this year and an alleged extremist plot to kidnap his governor, activated his National Guard and was closing the windows of state buildings.
► California Governor Gavin Newsom mobilized 1,000 members of the National Guard while the state also erected a temporary wire fence around its Capitol. The California Highway Patrol refused to issue licenses for demonstrations that had been planned there.
►Florida Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida National Guard on Friday. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered the state guard to prepare for potential activities. About 450 members of the National Guard in Pennsylvania will be among law enforcement officials at the state capitol in Harrisburg, said Governor Tom Wolf. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker activated 250 members of the Illinois National Guard. Plywood began to rise in the State Capitol.
►New Jersey State officials were forced to work remotely on the day of Biden’s inauguration, because of “the level of tension in the country,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
►O Kansas Statehouse will reinforce security measures, closing visitors’ access to the parking lot, giving key card access only through the entrance of visitors and requiring those with key card access to show badges. In Ohio, “several hundred” officers will be in the Capitol Square area on Sunday.
Go deeper: Why the absence of the National Guard in the Capitol disturbances shows a lack of preparation, distrust after BLM’s oppressive response.
Authorities across the country arrested dozens of people who invaded the Capitol in the Jan. 6 riot, including a Dallas woman who said she was a “normal person” who heard her president. Jenna Ryan, 50, is accused of entering or staying “intentionally” in the restricted building or grounds without legal authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds on January 6, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in a federal court in Washington. Prosecutors say she took a private jet to DC
Two other men, Robert L. Bauer, of Kentucky, and his cousin, Edward Hemenway, of Winchester, Virginia, pleaded not guilty of trespassing and intentionally entering a restricted building or land. They appeared in federal court on Friday.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington suspended a plan to release and place the photographed Arkansas man under house arrest at a table in the office of Mayor Nancy Pelosi during last week’s US Capitol riot. Instead, Richard Barnett will be taken to Washington, DC, for prosecution in your case, ordered United States District Chief Judge Beryl Howell.
In Arizona, far-right social media personality Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet posted bail on Friday, the day after a Scottsdale judge issued an arrest warrant when Gionet failed to appear at a City Court hearing about whether he had violated the terms of an earlier launch by traveling to Washington, DC, for what became the riot at the US Capitol.
A group of about a dozen supporters of President Donald Trump – some wearing “Trump 2020” hats, others wearing military clothes – gathered outside the Texas Capitol gates on Saturday afternoon. Some of the people outside the Capitol on Saturday wore protective vests and camouflage clothing. At least one man was seen carrying a rifle and another had a large knife and zipper attached to his belt.
A “Save Our State” protest rally was scheduled for the Illinois State Capitol at noon on Saturday. But shortly after its scheduled start, two protesters were outnumbered by 10 members of the media.
A small group of protesters gathered near the Nevada Capitol on Saturday. A handful of Capitol police officers watched as people kept signs where protesters had been meeting weekly since last summer. Some of the participants were armed.
The Oregon State Capitol had two protesters: a woman holding a sign that said, “White supremacy is terrorism” and a man carrying a sign that said, “Don’t charge Trump.”
– Heather Osbourne, Austin American-Statesman; Capi Lynn, (Salem, Ore.) Statesman Journal; Brenden Moore, (Springfield, Ill.) State Journal-Register; Terell Wilkins, Jason Bean and Brian Duggan, Reno (Nevada) Gazette Journal
Contributing: Lindsay Schnell, Cara Richardson and Joel Shannon, USA TODAY.