Officials on high alert as pro-Trump supporters flood DC to protest the election

One after another, the speakers presented allegations that the election was stolen, begging people to “fight” for victory on Wednesday. Trump’s loss has been reaffirmed by state courts and state election officials dozens of times since the election.

“We don’t trust the media’s crystal ball” in the election results and in the final counting of the Electoral College by Congress on Wednesday, said Dustin Stockton, one of the organizers of the march. But, he said, “it is clear that Wednesday will be historic”.

“(Trump) still has cards to play that he hasn’t played,” said Stockton. “We are not going to stop fighting until the president does.”

A series of rallies are planned for Wednesday, including one in the morning, where Trump said he will speak.

Weapon-free zones

In the days leading up to the planned march for Wednesday, police put up signs stating the areas where protesters are expected to be gun-free zones between Monday and Thursday. “ALL firearms are prohibited within a radius of 300 meters from this sign,” they read, attached to streetlights.

A DC police spokesman, Sean Hickman, did not comment on police personnel for the demonstrations or said whether they would try to keep pro-Trump supporters separate from the protests. It is also unclear how aggressive the police will be in enforcing the district’s gun laws.

“As with any major known demonstration, we will continue to monitor and evaluate each activity and plan according to our local and federal law enforcement partners,” said Hickman.

Federal agencies during the summer created confusion during the protests, sending agents to demonstrate in unidentified vehicles and without names, agencies or other identifiers on the uniforms. Congress passed a law requiring federal agents to wear some unique identifier on their clothing during protests.

This “caused confusion between residents and visitors and could become a threat to national security without any way for the MPD and the federal police to decipher armed groups,” wrote Bowser.

US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democratic from Connecticut, also wrote to federal officials on Monday, reminding them of this new law.

“Members of the federal armed forces and police who respond to civil unrest are now required to visibly display their names or an individual identifier and the name of the armed force, or federal entity for which they are employed,” he wrote.

The United States Bureau of Prisons sent 100 “specially trained officers” to the Justice Department in DC to supplement the security of the department’s facilities, said Justin Long, a spokesman for that agency, on Tuesday. They will act as a “reserve” for other Justice Department security teams.

Mark Morgan, the senior officer who serves as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said on Tuesday that the agency was not asked to send agents, but added that it has a “modest and quick reactionary force that will be readiness only in case our assistance is requested. “

Ken Cuccinelli, the senior officer who serves as deputy secretary of homeland security, said the agency is “prepared to increase staff as needed”.

“The Secret Service is at the heart of many of these things. They have a long history … And we are coordinating, not just the Service coordinating, but to the extent that the Federal Protection Service, which is protecting literally dozens of locations around of the city, if there is a need for reinforcement, we are prepared for that “, said Cuccinelli.

“Obviously, we expect all of these different protests to take place peacefully, but we are prepared to increase staff as needed across the district, in coordination with the DOJ and local authorities are also closely involved.”

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Monday approved a request from the District of Columbia to send a limited number of DC National Guard forces to support the Metropolitan Police Department and the fire department. The guards will not be armed and will mainly be helping to control traffic.

The Proud Boys

Tarrio was arrested on Monday and accused of burning the band and released from police custody on Tuesday. The judge ordered him to stay outside the District of Columbia, except in his own court appearances until further notice, according to court records.

Tarrio had two high-capacity gun carriers when the police arrested him, according to authorities, and he was also charged with possession of a high-capacity power device.

Tarrio did not return calls or messages from CNN on Monday. He took responsibility for burning the banner last month, writing in a post on the social media site Parler that “against the will of my lawyer, I am here today to admit that I am responsible for burning this sign”.

He also posted on social media that members of the Proud Boys would be “incognito” in this week’s protests.

Tuesday’s protesters shouted “Enrique” in support of Tarrio. Some speakers also protested the mask, one saying that the masks used to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are a means of “control” for employees who “try to take their freedom”. The vast majority of the several hundred people at Freedom Plaza did not wear masks during the afternoon and evening.

Founded in 2016, the Proud Boys group lists among its central principles the belief in “closed borders” and the objective of “restoring a spirit of Western chauvinism”. In online statements, it is alleged that he used violence only in self-defense. Members are often seen carrying firearms and bats and wearing protective gear. The group’s ideology was labeled “misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration” by the Anti-Defamation League.