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AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite A United States Capitol Police officer patrols the East Plaza the morning after the fencing was reinstalled around the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, September 16, ahead of a planned rally by far-right supporters of the former President Donald Trump who are demanding the release of rioters arrested in connection with the January 6 insurgency.
WASHINGTON – Previously burned, Capitol Police said they were taking no chances as they prepared for a rally on Saturday at the U.S. Capitol in support of rioters jailed after the violent Jan.6 insurgency.
While the scale of the rally is unclear, Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department are fully active in an effort to avoid a repeat of the attack leading up to the inauguration. Under-prepared police were overwhelmed as hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump burst onto Capitol Hill and halt Joe Biden’s certification of victory.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told a press conference on Friday that it was difficult to say whether threats of violence at the event were credible, but he said “to chatter” online and elsewhere has been similar to the intelligence that was missed in January.
A permit for the demonstration allows 700 people.
Manger said he believed the most likely possibility of violence on Saturday would involve clashes between protesters and any counter-protesters who might come forward.
“We will not tolerate violence and we will not tolerate any criminal behavior of any kind” Manger said. “The American public and members of Congress expect us to protect the Capitol. And I am convinced that the plan we have put in place will meet this expectation. “
After multiple missteps in January, the police are complete. The fence around the Capitol has been raised, temporarily. Police are bracing for the possibility that some protesters will arrive with weapons. The DC Police Department is ready and the United States Capitol Police have requested assistance from nearby law enforcement agencies.
The rally, hosted by former Trump campaign strategist Matt Braynard, aims to support what rally organizers are calling the “political prisoners” of the January 6 uprising – around 60 people held behind bars of the more than 600 indicted in the deadly riot. This is the latest attempt to downplay and deny the January violence.
Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on a House committee investigating the January attacks, said he supports aggressive law enforcement efforts.
“I hope law enforcement overreaction is actually the thing that can keep this from getting out of hand,” Kinzinger said in an interview Thursday. He predicted that people will criticize the effort if the protest is small and non-violent, “But that’s what has to happen because January 6 was obviously an under-reaction and it escalated.”
Intelligence gathered before Saturday’s rally suggested that extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers would show up. But some prominent members of the groups vowed not to go and told others not to attend. Far-right online chatter has been generally tamed, with Republican lawmakers downplaying the event.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request for approximately 100 members of the DC National Guard to be stationed in a town armory near the Capitol, to be called in as needed as back-up for other agencies law enforcement officers. They will mainly protect the Capitol building and the Congress offices. They will be without firearms, but will be equipped with batons and protective vests for self-defense.
Meanwhile, a Homeland Security Intelligence report warned of social media posts that discussed the possibility of a Capitol storming the day before the rally. A user too “commented on the kidnapping of an identified member of Congress”, the document says, although the lawmaker was not identified by name in the report. No lawmaker was to be in the building on Saturday because Congress is out of session.
“Other references to violence identified on social media include discussions of using the rally to target local Jewish institutions, elected officials and ‘liberal churches'” said the intelligence report.
Many commentators on popular far-right online platforms like Telegram disavowed the rally, saying they believed law enforcement was promoting the event to trap Trump supporters. Some urged their supporters not to attend what they said was a “false flag” event they believed to have been secretly organized by the FBI.
At the same time, however, some commentators continued to promote the rallies scheduled for Saturday in cities and state capitals across the country.
In a notice to House members this week, Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker urged lawmakers to stay away from the Capitol complex on Saturday. And lawmakers who backed Trump’s efforts to reverse his electoral defeat have distanced themselves from the event.
“I do not know what it is” Texas Senator Ted Cruz said when asked about the rally.
Trump still uses his platform as the most popular GOP leader to express his sympathy to those who have been arrested and to continue to spread election misinformation. In a statement Thursday, he said: “Our hearts and minds are with those so unjustly persecuted in connection with the January 6 demonstration over the rigged presidential election.”
The Associated Press examined hundreds of court and prison files for those accused of the Capitol riots to find out how many were being held and found approximately 60 inmates in federal custody awaiting trial or prosecution. sentencing hearing. Federal authorities are still on the lookout for other suspects who may also end up behind bars. As recently as Friday, a judge ordered pre-trial detention of a Pennsylvania woman who claims the court has no jurisdiction over her.
At least 30 are imprisoned in Washington. The others are locked up in establishments across the country. They said they were being treated unfairly, and one defendant said he was beaten.
Federal authorities have identified several of those detained as leaders, members or associates of extremist groups, including nine accused linked to the Proud Boys and three linked to the anti-government Oath Keepers. Dozens of people are accused of plotting to stage coordinated attacks on the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote of 2020, one of the most serious charges.
Some jailed defendants are accused of assaulting police officers, others will utter violent threats. A few were released after their arrest but subsequently detained again on charges of violating the conditions of release.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has set standards that judges must apply in deciding whether to jail a Capitol Hill riot defendant. A three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in March that rioters accused of assaulting officers, smashing windows, doors and barricades, or playing a leading role in the attack were in “Another category of dangerousness” than those who simply applauded the violence or entered the building after it was raped.
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