Governor doubtful violence will occur

In the aftermath of a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he thinks Arkansas is less likely to have violent actions in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, but will be prepared to protect the state Capitol if necessary.

On Jan. 6, supporters of President Donald Trump broke into and ransacked the U.S. Capitol over the counting of Electoral College votes.

The Associated Press reported Monday that the FBI, through an internal bulletin, is warning of armed protests at all 50 state Capitol buildings starting Saturday and leading up to Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20.

Asked about the threat level in Arkansas at his weekly covid-19 news conference Tuesday, Hutchinson said his administration takes every piece of intelligence seriously and would continue evaluating the information available from the FBI.

Hutchinson said he would activate the National Guard if civilian law enforcement officials are not sufficient to handle the threat, but he did not see any indication that would be necessary.

“At this time, I have not seen anything that indicates that our civilian law enforcement resources cannot handle any threats that we see at the present time, but we’ll continue to evaluate that,” he said.

He noted that he had called in the National Guard during protests against police brutality in Little Rock and across the nation in June, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, but said he did not do so until the destruction of property had taken place.

The governor said he felt the state is less likely than other states to see challenges to state authority or protests over the counting of Electoral College votes in Washington. Hutchinson investigated and prosecuted a right-wing extremist group when he was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas in the 1980s.