Amid armed patrols, state Capitol sits quiet
Protests by president’s supporters — raising specter of Jan. 6 riot — don’t materialize
SACRAMENTO >> Newly erected barricades and fences surrounded the state Capitol. Troops from the California National Guard, wearing camouflage and carrying rifles, stood on every corner, braced for trouble. But calls for President Donald Trump’s supporters to show up — armed — to protest President-elect Joe Biden’s impending inauguration fizzled here Sunday.
Instead, about the only Trump supporters anywhere close to the Capitol Sunday afternoon were Todd Blee, a retired tile setter, and his wife, Heidi Whipple, who were walking their chihuahua mix Romeo along the south side of the white-domed complex.
“I support my president, but I don’t want to be part of any civil unrest,” said Blee, 57, wearing a Trump hat and a black T-shirt that said, “I stand for the flag. I kneel for the cross.”
About the only conflict that flared Sunday came when a man passed Blee on the sidewalk and yelled, “Trump sucks!”
Authorities should be so lucky come Wednesday, when Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office. Fears remain high that far-right activists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. and other Trump supporters who believe the false claims of election fraud still could turn out in droves.
At a number of statehouses across the country Sunday, small groups of Trump activists — some carrying rifles — gathered. But no violence erupted and no arrests were made.
After a peaceful day at the fortified Washington Statehouse in Olympia, state patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said he hoped the calm reflected some national soul-searching.
“I would love to say that it’s because we’ve all taken a sober look in the mirror,” Loftis said, “and have decided that we are a more unified people than certain moments in time would indicate.”
In Sacramento, the ominous security measures were upsetting to Sunday walkers and joggers who were enjoying a sunny winter morning outdoors.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re at a place where we feel we are in an occupied, militarized city here in the capital of California,” said Mike Powell, 40, who was waiting to have brunch outside at a restaurant a block from the Capitol.
Anthony Gonzalez, 60, was equally disheartened as he passed armed soldiers on his way to the historic Cathedral of Blessed Sacraments, where he works as a custodian.
“It’s kind of a shame that we have to live this way now,” he said. “You have to watch your back. You see it in other countries, and wouldn’t think it would happen here.”
It was unclear through much of the day whether a rally would materialize, but the California Highway Patrol had denied permits for a protest here and Trump had called on his supporters to remain peaceful after the Capitol riot.
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom called up the California National Guard to help fortify the Capitol in anticipation of potential armed protests.
“California will take every necessary measure to protect public safety and our democratic principles and to ensure that those disgraceful actions are not repeated here,” Newsom said in a video message last week.
Sacramento police spokesman Karl Chan said Sunday he hoped that the advance warning of the overwhelming security force kept troublemakers away.
“We’re grateful today has been peaceful so far,” Chan said. “Hopefully, we can get through this week like we have the past two days. We will be prepared.”
By early afternoon, the largest demonstration in the area came from three men with anti-Trump signs standing on a corner at the back side of the Capitol.
“I’d like to ask every American why Trump isn’t sitting in a jail cell for treason,” said James Pitocco, 63, who said that he and his twin brother, John, have been protesting on that corner about every weekend for 30 years — “unless we’re lucky enough to find work or it doesn’t rain.”
“I’m living in a democracy, but 74 million people don’t seem to know what that means,” he added, referring to the number of Americans who voted for Trump in the November election.
His homemade sign said, “Trump — King of the Goons.”
Instead of protesting Sunday, Blee, the Trump supporter who walked past the Capitol with his wife and their dog, thanked National Guard soldiers for their service.
Not only is it “a crying shame” that 1,000 soldiers had to be sent here to protect the Capitol, he said, but the Jan. 6 debacle at the U.S. Capitol left him “broken-hearted.”
“There’s nothing that justifies actions like that,” Blee said.
Although he believes the disproved conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from Trump, he also believes that Trump’s rhetoric the day of the riot helped incite the crowd.
“I think everyone could handle themselves with a lot more class these days,” he said.