⏩ Caution in Sacramento:
State and local law enforcement agencies beef up security at California’s Capitol.
SACRAMENTO — State and local law enforcement agencies are ramping up security measures around the California Capitol in the aftermath of last week’s insurrection in Washington, D. C. by rioters seeking to keep President Trump in office.
With the FBI warning of plans for armed protests in Washington and all 50 state capitals ahead of Presidentelect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he is prepared to call in the California National Guard if needed to maintain peace in Sacramento.
“Everybody is on high alert in terms of just making sure that everybody is safe and protected, people’s free speech can be advanced but there’s no violence,” Newsom said at a news conference Monday. “I can assure you, we have a heightened, heightened level of security.”
Since the election, Trump supporters have been gathering weekly at the state Capitol to object to what they falsely claim was a fraudulent outcome. Capital Public Radio reported that the events, for which organizers did not obtain permits, have frequently devolved into clashes between the farright militia group Proud Boys and antifa counterprotesters.
A demonstration Jan. 6 to challenge Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory included several small skirmishes on the fringes, but ultimately ended without widespread violence. Across the country, however, a proTrump mob stormed the U. S. Capitol, leaving four rioters and a member of the Capitol Police dead and heightening concerns about additional bloodshed in the weeks ahead.
A group called Let
Freedom Ring has sought a permit to hold an event Sunday at the state Capitol for 3,000 people “to peacefully protest our compromised election,” register voters and collect signatures to recall Newsom. Additional information about the demonstration or who is behind it is not readily available online.
The California Highway Patrol, which manages safety operations for the Capitol grounds and issues permits for events, did not respond
to questions about who filed for the Let Freedom Ring permit. In a statement, a spokesperson said the CHP was coordinating with local law enforcement agencies, but declined to discuss what additional safety protocols it was taking.
“Officers are always vigilant for potential threats that may occur at the State Capitol,” Officer John Ortega, a spokesperson for the CHP’s Capitol Protection Section, said in an email. “We have personnel ready to respond to protect
state property and ensure public safety as necessary.”
Barricades have kept the public away from the Capitol building since May, following a demonstration against coronavirus restrictions in which attendees confronted law enforcement officers and some tried to break through a line of officers guarding the entrance.
On Tuesday morning, there appeared to be some additional staffing around the Capitol as well, with about two dozen officers standing guard or patrolling the perimeter of the fencing. But the property was not entirely inaccessible to the public; at one point, a group calling for a moratorium on construction of factory farms and slaughterhouses was escorted by CHP officers onto the west steps for their protest.
The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office said it is prepared to provide resources and personnel to assist the CHP “for any unexpected event,” while the Sacramento Police Department is already planning to step up its response “for any future demonstrations” in the downtown streets around the Capitol, which fall under its jurisdiction.
The security teams for both houses of the Legislature said they have boosted safety protocols, but declined to say how.