Biden inauguration – TEN states deploy National Guard and TX, VA & KY to SHUT Capitols as US braces for violent protests
AT LEAST 10 states are deploying National Guard troops and several are closing their Capitols amid the FBI’s warnings of armed protests around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Among states that are activating Guardsmen leading up to Inauguration Day are California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a New York Times survey on Friday.
Meanwhile, states that plan to shut down their Capitol grounds before Wednesday include Kentucky, Texas and Virginia.
New Mexico and other states with legislatures meeting over the coming days have erected fencing around their Capitols.
Some states, including Indiana and Michigan, have taken unprecedented measures of canceling their legislative work next week over the warnings of possible violence.
America prepared for potential violence as:
- The FBI continues to arrest Capitol rioters including a woman who live-streamed the siege
- Armed National Guards members converged in Washington, DC, in uniform and plain clothes
- The FBI investigate 37 people over the killing of a Capitol cop during the insurrection
- President-elect Biden postponed his inauguration rehearsal over security threats
In the days following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the FBI warned that armed protesters could target Washington, DC, and capitals across the nation.
Such activity is already brewing, as the FBI on Friday arrested former Army Airborne infantryman Daniel Alan Baker in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital.
Baker, 33, “specifically called for others to join him in encircling any protestors and confining them to the Capitol complex using firearms,” stated the FBI in an arrest report.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey on Friday asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to activate the National Guard, which DeSantis did shortly after “in response to reports of potential civil unrest.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom approved the deployment of 1,000 Guardsmen to Sacramento and lined the perimeter of the state Capitol with a six-foot-tall fence to “prepare for and respond to credible threats.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker activated 250 National Guard members, on top of 300 troops from the state that have already been deployed to help with the inauguration.
Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, who is the commander of the Illinois National Guard, said: “Our soldiers and airmen come from every community across Illinois, and each has sworn to protect their communities, their state and their nation.”
Governors and mayors across the country are reinforcing their buildings and telling potential protesters to think twice before showing up.
“If you’re planning to come here or up to Washington with ill intent in your heart, you need to turn around right now and go home,” Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said during a news conference on Thursday.
“You are not welcome here, and you’re not welcome in our nation’s capital and if you come here and act out, Virginia will be ready.”
Source: Read Full Article