The last to prove Sunday at state houses across the country.
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After a small, peaceful protest at the Ohio Statehouse on Sunday, Gov. Mike DeWine says security levels will remain high in Columbus for Wednesday’s presidential inauguration.
DeWine praised the protesters for exercising their rights to freedom of expression in a way that “respected our Constitution and our Capitol building for more than 150 years.”
But he said there will be concerns about possible violence in the coming days.
Low-profile protests were common throughout the United States on Sunday, as law enforcement prepared for large rallies and possible violence by supporters of President Donald Trump, who believe their false claims of winning the presidential election.
Many rallies had more law enforcement than the protesters. In the states of Maine in Mississippi and Nevada, there were no far-right protesters. Protesters in Kentucky, New Hampshire and Utah were armed but peaceful.
Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said there could have been a nationwide cooling after a violent crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to stop certification of the Electoral College, leaving a Capitol Police officer and four other people dead.
He said law enforcement would not lower his guard yet.
“The only thing we have in abundance today is uncertainty,” he said. “For us, in law enforcement, we just have to be prepared for anything. We cannot afford to be despicable, we cannot be alarmed. We just have to be prepared for whatever it may be. ”
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Some of the protests in state houses have begun to break out after attracting only modest crowds, in most places, no more than a couple of dozen protesters.
Officials had fortified state houses with additional police, National Guard troops and fencing after the FBI had warned of the possibility of armed demonstrations in the 50 state capitals.
Still, some had no protesters on any Sunday. The Nevada Capitol in Carson City was empty, except for one person carrying a sign that said “Trump Lost. Be an adult. Go home.”
In Richmond, Virginia, police vehicles, dump trucks and orange barrels blocked streets around the Capitol, but there were no signs of demonstrations.
It was a similar story in Springfield, Illinois. The windows of the Capitol had been boarded as a precaution amid fears of a rally similar to the Trump rally that preceded the Jan. 6 insurgency at the U.S. Capitol, when a violent mob tried to stop Col. Electoral law for President-elect Joe Biden. .
By mid-afternoon on Sunday, only state guards and soldiers were staying around the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, with the crowd dissipating before the start of the Cleveland Browns NFL game.
Protesters also marched in the afternoon in Lansing, Michigan, where state police estimated there were only about 20. There were a large number of police and media members.
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Some counter-protesters have begun appearing outside state houses to send a message against far-right groups who have threatened to disrupt the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
In Columbia, South Carolina, a group of about half a dozen people were on the opposite side of the pro-Trump protesters’ Statehouse lawn, with one that had a sign that read, “What are you so PROUD of, BOYS? He was a reference to the far-right group Proud Boys. It seems that the groups do not interact.
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Stephen Rzonca, who lives just minutes from the state Capitol, said he came to greet potential protesters, though he was not there around noon.
“I am fundamentally against possible protesters coming here to delegitimize the elections and I do not want to be passive in expressing my disapproval for them to enter this city,” Rzonca said.
And before protesters arrived in Lansing, Michigan, a truck appeared with a sign supporting Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of a thwarted kidnapping plot last year.
At the U.S. Capitol, while federal officials, District of Columbia police and National Guard troops patrolled the area, a lone protester walked down the sidewalk with a sign that said “Give up Trump!”
“Look at this world that Trump has created,” said the woman, a retiree who lives in the area. He said he was afraid to reveal his name, gesturing barricades and largely empty streets.
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Small groups of pro-Trump protesters, some armed, have begun gathering outside state homes, including in Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina.
In Lansing, Michigan, state police officers walked through the Capitol precinct as a small group of protesters stood near a chain link fence surrounding the 142-year-old building. Several National Guard vehicles were on a nearby street. A gunman falsely gave his name as Duncan Lemp, a Maryland man who died in a police raid without a hitch and became a martyr to a loose network of anti-government extremists.
A supporter of President Donald Trump wore a red “Make American Great Again” hat while standing on the grass with the “Don’t Tread On Me” banner. On the back of the shirt could be read: “PATRIOT NOT RACIST NOT TERRORIST”.
In Columbus, Ohio, about two dozen people, several carrying long weapons, gathered outside the Capitol while dozens of state soldiers and members of the National Guard guarded several points around the State House, including all the tickets. Almost all the businesses around the capital square in the city center were walled up.
Several dozen people gathered at the South Carolina State House, some carrying American flags. It was not immediately clear whether some of the group were also counter-protesters supporting the incoming Biden administration.
A strong law enforcement presence surrounded the government complex in central Columbia. The Capitol itself has been surrounded by metal barricades for several days and state lawmakers have announced they will not hold the face-to-face session scheduled for this week due to possible riots.