Increased security visible in Minnesota capital as pro-Trump group assembles on Saturday

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Members of the pro-Trump group stand outside the Minnesota State Capitol building on Saturday, Jan.16, 2021, as law enforcement stands guard in the distance. (FOX 9)

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (FOX 9) – A rally group at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Saturday was greeted with a large show of force from law enforcement, amid security concerns across the country.

Additional law enforcement didn’t stop the small group of pro-Trump supporters from what has become a weekly gathering of speeches and prayers dubbed “Freedom Fest.”

“We’ve had a lot of negative press lately,” said Becky Strohmeier, organizer of Hold the Line. “The governor is trying to fit us into a false story that we are violent.”

Strohmeier insists she didn’t expect a huge crowd on Saturday and that few showed up. Some were visibly armed while others carried signs that read “Stop the Steal”.

“I just wanted to come out and challenge people to tell me how the election I was in was stolen,” said Steve Brandt of Minneapolis.

Brandt, who said he was an election judge in Minneapolis, said enough was enough.

“And people are questioning the process that you are working in, you feel the need to stand up for democracy, to say ‘no, this is wrong’,” he explained. “This election was not stolen.”

Following the recent violent attack on the United States Capitol, and days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, security has been stepped up in state buildings and federal buildings across the country.

A counter-protester, who played the clown music of a speaker in Saint-Paul on Saturday, was quickly escorted by the state patrol.

Strohmeier, who also hosted an open-air Sunday church-style event for Capitol Park, isn’t sure what the future holds for the movement beyond that.

“It’s really hard to know what we’re going to do next weekend,” she said. “It kind of depends on what’s going on this week. We’re not going to stop being quiet all of a sudden.”

ST PAUL, MN – JANUARY 16: A conservation officer from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forms a perimeter ahead of a planned protest outside the Capitol Building on January 16, 2021 in St Paul, Minnesota. Supporters of President Trump gat

Security restrictions in place around the State Capitol complex

DPS says some of the security measures will be visible to the public, but not all. People should expect to see State Patrol soldiers, Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, and National Guard soldiers patrolling the Capitol. The fence that was erected around the Capitol during the summer unrest remains in place.

Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General Shawn Manke said on Friday that just over 100 Military Police would be at the State Capitol initially, but the response can be “phased” depending on the level of threat . There will also be traffic restrictions in place around the Capitol. Pedestrian traffic will be permitted, but only employees of state agencies, contractors, delivery people and those on official business will be able to circulate in the restricted area.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is asking people who have no activity or planned activity on Capitol Hill to consider visiting at another time, according to a press release.