SALEM â For the opening day of the legislative session, it was eerily quiet at the Oregon Capitol Thursday.
The rotunda, usually filled with elected officials and their staff, interested members of the public and busloads of schoolchildren, was nearly silent due to COVID-19 restrictions and a highly visible security force on hand to quell possible violent protests â although only about a half-dozen flag-waving protesters showed up.
Sheets of plywood covered the windows on the first floor of the building, and fencing and large concrete barriers lined the north sidewalk. Numerous state troopers â some with dogs â were present, and at least a dozen members of the Oregon National Guard were stationed throughout the building.