Capitol police brace for pro-Trump rally supporting Jan. 6:‘We’re not taking any chances’
A months-long effort to eliminate security risks at the U.S. Capitol could be put to the test this weekend, with lawmakers urged to avoid the area Saturday during a planned right-wing rally in support of Jan. 6 riot suspects.
Authorities said they have put together a 25-agency-strong plan spearheaded by the Capitol Police — which was much-criticized after the stunning January assault — and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department. An intense police presence is expected.
“The U.S. Capitol Police Department has been working around the clock,” Chief Tom Manger said in a news conference on Friday. “There have been some threats of violence associated with the events for tomorrow, and we have a strong plan in place to ensure that it remains peaceful.”
The National Guard will assist if needed, according to the Capitol Police.
On Jan. 6, a mob broke into the halls of Congress, inspired by a falsehood-spewing President Donald Trump, who urged his supporters to “take back our country” as he claimed he had soundly beaten President Biden in the November election.
Four people died in the chaos, and Manger said his department has worked over the last eight months to “ensure that we don’t have a repeat of Jan. 6.”
Washington was left jittery in the aftermath of the attack on democracy, and faced another scare on a sleepy morning last month, when a troubled man in a black truck rolled in front of the Library of Congress and declared he had a bomb. The man, Floyd Ray Roseberry, criticized Biden in a live-streamed rant as he menaced the Capitol, but he ultimately surrendered to cops.
Now, even as Congressional leaders express confidence in police preparation, another ominous cloud is gathering over Washington.
The Saturday protest, called the “Justice for J6″ rally, was organized by Matt Braynard, a former Trump campaign operative. He acquired a permit for a 700-person demonstration, according to the police.
Trump signaled his support for the gathering in a statement on Thursday, saying, “Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election.”
But he did not specifically name the rally, and he has appeared to otherwise largely ignore it. No evidence has emerged that the Nov. 3 election was rigged, and Trump lost decisively in both the popular vote and the electoral college.
The Saturday event has led officials to erect a tall black chain-link security fence at the Capitol, and authorities said an army of cops will be ready.
“We are prepared,” Robert Contee, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said in the news conference on Friday, adding that his department had spoken to organizers and “planned accordingly.”
No top Republican elected officials appeared to be slated to attend the protest. Several lawmakers spoke at the Jan. 6 rally.
In an internal advisory, the House sergeant-at-arms, William Walker, said lawmakers and their staffers are “strongly encouraged to avoid the U.S. Capitol Complex” on Saturday.
“Members and staff should expect demonstration activity and street closures,” he said in the notice, which was dated Tuesday.
Some alarming threats have emerged in the lead-up to Saturday’s demonstration. In a bulletin to law enforcement officials, the Department of Homeland Security described discussions on social media around “using the rally to target local Jewish institutions, elected officials and ‘liberal churches,’” CBS News reported.
Manger said it was difficult to determine the credibility of threats lodged in connection with the demonstration.
“We don’t know with any certainty,” he said. “We’re not taking any chances.”
Eric Ward, the executive director of Western States Center, a progressive organization in Portland, Ore., that monitors extremism, said his group doesn’t believe more than 500 people will show up for the “Justice for J6″ protest.
“We just haven’t seen significant mobilization,” Ward told the Daily News.
The greatest threat, he said, could be generated by clashes between protesters and counterprotesters — as well as by copy-cat rallies planned across the U.S. for Saturday.
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) both said security plans in Washington seemed strong.
“I think they’re ready for whatever might happen,” Schumer said Monday.
Comparing the preparations to those in January, Pelosi said, “It seems much better.”
With Michael McAuliff
