FBI Sounds Warning, Says Nationwide Armed Protests May Break Out This Week

After the US Capitol siege that caused the death of 5 people and created a stir globally, the FBI has now warned of plans for more armed protests at all 50 state capitals in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on the 20th of January.

In a bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies across the nation on Sunday, the FBI warned that the nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, according to two law enforcement officials who read details of the memo to The Associated Press. Investigators believe some of the people are members of extremist groups, the officials said.

Source: The Mercury News

“Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the U.S. Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” the bulletin said, according to one official. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The second official also added that on December 29, the FBI, in a similar Bulletin had warned of the potential for armed demonstrators targeting legislatures, which indeed became a reality last Wednesday.

Source: NPR

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Monday that the Guard is also looking at any issues across the country, saying, “We’re keeping a look across the entire country to make sure that we’re monitoring, and that our Guards in every state are in close coordination with their local law enforcement agencies to provide any support requested,” he said.

Also warning of more attacks to come, Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said authorities in state capitals and other major cities besides Washington should prepare for the possibility of violent protests next week.

“A lot of people were energized by what happened last week,” he said. “State capitals are a natural place where people might want to show up, especially assuming that they think there might be a huge presence of police and military in D.C. because of what happened last week.”