Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘We are ready to fight and kill and die’
Florida Capitol locks down, but only a few protesters appear
TALLAHASSEE — Waves of police officers started arriving Sunday morning to the Florida State Capitol in anticipation of possible protests and violence.
But by mid-afternoon, only police and journalists swarmed the Capitol complex among the armored cars and SWAT vehicles.
Then, as evening came, a group of five anti-government gun-rights demonstrators appeared. They joined a lone anti-fascist demonstrator by the Capitol entrance for a brief, impromptu news conference, and then walked off.
The government complex at the center of the small city is on high alert this week because federal officials have issued warnings to authorities at state capitals around the country in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
“I hope nothing happens,” Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said at a midday news conference held in the center of the city. “But hope alone is not a plan, and we are prepared.”
“We are ready to fight and kill and die,” one of the anti-government protesters shouted through a bullhorn later that afternoon.
The man, who wore a floral-print hoodie and a face covering, declined to give his identity, identifying himself only as “Duncan Lemp,” a Maryland man killed by police in a botched raid last March who has become a martyr for the “Boogaloo” anti-government cause.
Next to him stood three other men who also declined to give their real names. Two wore tactical vests and sported patches that identified them with the three percenter movement, a far-right libertarian anti-government group. One man flew a flag associated with the “Boogaloo” anti-government movement.
A fourth member of the group who identified himself as Jose Gutierrez, of Orlando, said the group had rented a car and driven up to Tallahassee to “stop the division in this country.”
Gutierrez, however, was disappointed.
“I was hoping there’d be more people,” he said.
On high alert
On Friday night, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an order activating the state’s National Guard. The troops were mobilized “in response to possible civil unrest,” according to the order.
On Sunday, no Florida National Guardsmen were visible at the Capitol.
Instead, dozens of squad cars and unmarked police cruisers began pulling into the complex about 9:30 a.m.
An armored vehicle belonging to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office followed.
Officers in marked and unmarked patrol cars from the Leon County Sheriff ’s Office, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) were also observed entering through the same security gate.
A drone, operated by uniformed officers on the rooftop of nearby Tallahassee City Hall, hovered overhead.
Officers occasionally patrolled the grounds, and no additional fencing or other protective measures had been set up overnight.
Mayor Dailey named seven separate law enforcement agencies that had contributed personnel to defend the Florida Capitol on Sunday. He said that officers would be “prepared for as long as we need to be.”
Dailey added that while he had not been briefed on any specific threats by law enforcement agencies, “we know there are people who don’t have the best intentions towards the State Capitol.”
Buildings and businesses in the downtown Tallahassee area did not appear to be boarded up.
Senate and House leadership told lawmakers and their staffs to avoid the Capitol over the weekend, and the city of Tallahassee closed offices and postponed a Martin Luther King Day parade that had been planned for Monday.
The Leon County Sheriff ’s Office, which did not return an email seeking comment, called on other agencies to send emergency response teams to Tallahassee to assist in managing possible protests.
There’s been no word on how many officers and National Guardsmen have been sent. The FDLE said it would make major announcements on its social media accounts.
On Saturday, the FDLE said it remained on alert because of the FBI warning last week of possible violent protest.
“We are aware of the information regarding possible protests and violence at state capitols,” wrote Jessica Cary in an email. “Any urgent messages (if necessary) will be communicated first through our Twitter page @fdlepio.”