HARTFORD BRACES FOR ARMED PROTESTS
In wake of the attack in Washington and with Biden’s inauguration looming, the Connecticut National Guard is providing increased security at the state Capitol
“We are prepared . ... This is a very edgy time between now through the inaugural.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, urging protesters to stay home
As the presidential inauguration draws near, the Connecticut National Guard said Thursday that soldiers will provide security at critical state infrastructure as authorities brace for potential armed protests at state capitols across the nation.
“The additional support of the Connecticut National Guard was requested in response to last week’s events in the U.S. Capitol and an advisory issued to the states by the FBI,” according to the Guard. The release did not say where the soldiers would be deployed.
Capitol and state police, working with other law enforcement partners, have been preparing all week after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests at state capitols across the country on Sunday or during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
“We are prepared. We are prepared with our Guard, municipal police, Capitol police, and we are going to be very clear to people: stay safe, stay home,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday. “We don’t want protesters coming out right now. We certainly don’t want ... counterdemonstrations coming ... this is a very edgy time between now
through the inaugural.”
The police presence at the state Capitol was higher than normal on Thursday, but legislators could still move freely around the building.
On a day when the state House of Representatives was in session, legislators who were driving into the Legislative Office Building’s parking garage were greeted by a heavily armed Capitol police officer who was standing outside his police vehicle. He was carrying a high-powered long gun that is not normally seen in public on the Capitol grounds.
Inside the Capitol, a large contingent of Capitol police, state police and Connecticut National Guard troops were seen outside the state Senate on the third floor as part of a tour so that law enforcement could familiarize themselves with the building. Later, another contingent of state police took a separate tour outside the Hall of the House and other parts of the building.
The drastic increase in local security comes a week after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump, for the second time in his four-year term, was impeached Wednesday on accusations he incited the violence there that led to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.
Those who visit the state Capitol before and during the inauguration will be met by quiet buildings that are mostly empty because of the ongoing pandemic. Legislative leaders, balancing safety and security, moved up a planned meeting of the House and Senate on Inauguration Day to keep business in the building to a minimum on Jan. 20.
Lamont’s chief of staff, Paul Mounds, would not say Thursday if there were any specific threats in Connecticut, but said that authorities “stand ready” through the weekend and into next week.
Chatter on social media about any such events has been all but nonexistent in Connecticut, despite those channels typically serving as a rallying points to plan large-scale protests.
Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh, a Norwich Republican who attended the pro-Trump rally in Washington last week that preceded the siege, said that she and her conservative friends are steering clear of the state Capitol and have no plans to assemble there in the coming days.
“I’m not going to be anywhere near the Capitol building,” she said.
Hopkins-Cavanagh went down to D.C. with a group of roughly 150 Trump supporters from Connecticut, she said. After attending the rally, Hopkins-Cavanagh said she only went as far as the Capitol steps and did not enter the building. She described the energy of the crowd around her as “testosterone on steroids.”
One hindrance to organizing future events, she said, is that her social media presence has been restricted.
“All of my Facebook stuff was taken down two days before I went to D.C. All of my friends had their Facebook and social media taken down as well,” she said. “We sent three buses down. If we were able to communicate to our fellow citizens, we probably would have had six buses.”
Social media has also served as a key tool for law enforcement preparing for past protests, but platforms have blocked Trump in recent days and swiftly moved to silence speech that could incite more violence.
“When they shut down social media, when they shut down Parler, when they limit Facebook traffic about that day, law enforcement across the country lost a good part of their intelligence,” said Brian Foley, an aide to Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella. “Again, we have many other avenues that I can’t speak of publicly. We lost an arm of our intelligence gathering. That being said, we have many other avenues of investigation and intelligence gathering.”
While Capitol police have been focused on events at the complex, Hartford officials have also been preparing as protests have in the past have spilled into the surrounding areas.
“We’re working in close coordination with ... our Hartford Police Department along with the Capitol Police, the state police, federal partners, and as I’ve said a number of times now, we hope that any protests that occur in Hartford remain peaceful,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said. “We’ve facilitated 200 protests, rallies and marches over the course of last year, the course of the last six months. We will do anything we can to facilitate free expression and exercise of First Amendment rights, but we will not accept, and we will not tolerate and we will be fully prepared for violence of any kind.”
Hartford police also have a comprehensive surveillance network operating through much of the city, run through a real-time crime center in the former police headquarters.
Surveillance will prove to be an essential tool for law enforcement if any issues arise ahead of the inauguration.
“There will be video blanketing locations that are at risk for protests, and the Capitol, for sure, will have many extra layers of surveillance on it to include many different types of video surveillance’“Foley said. “Cameras inside. Cameras outside. Street cameras that are already there. Additional cameras being added to the street. Body cameras, vehicle cameras, drone cameras.”