The Atlantic
Demonstrations across the country after the Capitol riot were small, but more violence may soon come.
Stephanie Keith / Getty
This weekend, every mayor of an American state capital was trying to answer the same question:
How do I keep my city safe? Steven Reed in Montgomery, Alabama, and Frank Scott, in Little Rock, Arkansas, increased police patrols. In Richmond, Mayor Levar Stoney declared a state of emergency. Governors in Virginia, Michigan, and Wisconsin placed the National Guard on standby. The FBI had warned that armed protests would take place in all 50 state capitals in the lead-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration tomorrow, and everyone I spoke with worried that if they weren’t prepared, their city could be home to the next riot.
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER | The Washington Post | Published: January 16, 2021 RICHMOND, Va. The pro-gun signs and flags had all been snapped up from the racks inside Green Top Hunting & Fishing on Friday afternoon. Around Virginia, buses were being plastered with banners and ham radio operators were gearing up to coordinate a potentially massive gun-rights caravan to the state Capitol on Monday. With the FBI warning of the potential for right-wing attacks in capitals around the country this weekend following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, officials are watching anxiously as armed demonstrators prepare to converge on Richmond. There is a lot of [online] chatter about Saturday and Sunday, but we re primarily focused on Monday, Virginia public safety secretary Brian Moran said Friday evening after briefing staffers from the General Assembly. In terms of credible threats - we re monitoring it.