The latest in demo Sunday in state houses across the country.
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After a small peaceful protest at the Ohio Statehouse on Sunday, Governor Mike DeWine said security levels will remain high in Columbus for Wednesday’s presidential inauguration.
DeWine praised the protesters for exercising their freedom of expression rights in a way “that respected our Constitution and our state capitol for more than 150 years”.
But he said there are still concerns about potential violence in the coming days.
Discreet protests were common across the United States on Sunday, as the police prepared for big rallies and possible violence by supporters of President Donald Trump, who believe his false claims that he won the presidential election.
Many rallies had more security forces than protesters. In the states from Maine to Mississippi and Nevada, there were no far-right demonstrators. The protesters in Kentucky, New Hampshire and Utah were armed, but peaceful.
Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said there may have been a nationwide cooling down after a violent crowd of Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol on January 6 to prevent Electoral College certification. , leaving a Capitol police officer and four others dead.
He said the police will still not let their guard down.
“The only thing we have in abundance today is uncertainty,” he said. “For us, in law enforcement, we simply have to be ready for anything. We cannot afford to be contemptuous, we cannot afford to be alarmists. We just have to be ready for anything. “
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Some of the protests in state houses began to break up after attracting only modest crowds – in most places, no more than a few dozen protesters.
Authorities fortified state headquarters with extra police, National Guard troops and fences after the FBI warned of the possibility of armed demonstrations in all 50 state capitals.
However, some did not have protesters at all on Sunday. The Nevada Capitol in Carson City was empty, except for one person carrying a sign saying “Trump Lost. Be an adult. Go home.”
In Richmond, Virginia, police vehicles, dump trucks and orange barrels blocked the streets around the Capitol, but there were no signs of demonstrations.
It was a similar story in Springfield, Illinois. Capitol windows were boarded up as a precaution amid fears of a meeting similar to the Trump rally that preceded the January 6 uprising at the United States Capitol, when a violent crowd tried to prevent Electoral College certification for the elected president Joe Biden.
By mid-Sunday afternoon, only state guards and soldiers remained around the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, with the crowd dissipating before the Cleveland Browns’ NFL playoff game began.
The protesters also left in the afternoon in Lansing, Michigan, where the state police estimated they were only about 20. The number was much lower than that of the police and the media.
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Some counter-protesters began to appear outside parliaments to send a message against extreme right groups that threatened to interrupt President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
In Columbia, South Carolina, a group of about half a dozen people were on the opposite side of the Statehouse lawn from pro-Trump protesters, with one holding a sign that said, “What are you so PROUD, BOYS?” It was a reference to the far-right group Proud Boys. The groups did not appear to be interacting.
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Stephen Rzonca, who lives just minutes from the state capitol, said he had come to greet any possible protester, although there were none until midday.
“I am fundamentally against the potential protesters who come here to delegitimize the election, and I do not want to be passive in expressing my disapproval for them coming to this city,” said Rzonca.
And before the protesters arrived in Lansing, Michigan, a truck appeared with a sign supporting Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of a failed kidnapping plan last year.
At the United States Capitol, while federal officials, District of Columbia police and National Guard troops patrolled the area, a lone protester walked down the sidewalk with a sign that said “Renounce Trump!”
“Look at this world that was created by Trump,” said the woman, a retiree who lives in the area. She said she was afraid to reveal her name, pointing to barricades and almost empty streets.
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Small groups of pro-Trump protesters, some armed, began to gather outside parliaments, including Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina.
In Lansing, Michigan, state police troops walked around the Capitol grounds while a small group of protesters stood near a wire fence around the 142-year-old building. Several National Guard vehicles were on a nearby street. An armed man falsely named Duncan Lemp, a Maryland man who was killed in a police raid without a beat and became a martyr by a loose network of armed anti-government extremists in fist.
A supporter of President Donald Trump wore a red “Make American Great Again” cap while standing on the lawn with a “Don’t tread on me” flag. On the back of his shirt was written: “PATRIOT, NON-RACIST, NON-TERRORIST”.
In Columbus, Ohio, about two dozen people, several carrying long weapons, gathered outside the Capitol while dozens of state soldiers and members of the National Guard guarded various points around the House, including all entrances. Almost all businesses around the city center square were boarded up.
Several dozen people were gathered at the South Carolina Statehouse, some carrying American flags. It was not immediately clear whether some in the group were also counter-demonstrators who supported the Biden government.
A strong police presence surrounded the government complex in central Columbia. Capitol itself has been surrounded by metal barricades for several days, and state lawmakers have announced that they will not hold their scheduled face-to-face session this week because of possible unrest.