US law enforcement officers far outnumbered protesters at state capitol grounds on Sunday, as few far-right extremists and supporters of Donald Trump who believe the president’s false claim that he won the 2020 election turned out for what authorities feared could be violent demonstrations.
More than a dozen states activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following an FBI warning of armed demonstrations, with right-wing extremists emboldened by the deadly attack on the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January.
Security officials had eyed Sunday as the first major flashpoint, as the anti-government “boogaloo” movement .
But by Sunday evening, only small gatherings of demonstrators had taken to the streets alongside much larger crowds of law-enforcement officers and media personnel.
“It was a non-event today and we are glad it was,” said Troy Thompson, spokesman for the Department of General Services, the agency that protects the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg.
Tens of thousands of security personnel from the National Guard and law-enforcement agencies descended in recent days upon Washington DC to bolster security ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony, when Democratic President-elect Joe Biden will relieve departing Republican President Donald Trump.
It was unclear how much the FBI warning and robust security presence around the country on Sunday led protesters to cancel plans.
Some militias and extremist groups told followers to stay home, citing the increased security or the risk that the planned events were law-enforcement traps.
Only a few Trump supporters showed up in Harrisburg, while a similarly small group of about a dozen protesters, a few armed with rifles, stood outside Michigan’s capitol in Lansing. One wore fatigue pants, a tactical vest and blue Hawaiian shirt, a trademark of the boogaloo movement.
By early evening, the capitol grounds in Lansing were deserted.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are screening National Guard members to make sure they do not pose a security risk during Mr Biden's inauguration, a four-star general said in comments broadcast Sunday.
A man holding a sign reading 'Traitor Trump' rides a bike next to California National Guard troops stationed around the state Capitol in Sacramento. Source: EPA
Following the riots at the Capitol building, it emerged that some of those involved had current or former ties to the military.
General Daniel Hokanson, who heads the National Guard Bureau, was asked by CBS News on Sunday if troops were being checked as they arrived in Washington.
"In coordination with the Secret Service and the FBI, they're screening all the personnel that are coming in," he said.
With AFP.
