FBI official expresses 'fair sense of worry' over Monday's pro-gun rally in Richmond
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Federal authorities arrested a number of suspected neo-Nazis around the country this week out of concern that they were planning violent acts at Monday's pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia, a senior FBI official said Friday.
"A big reason why we disrupted it now was based on the timing of the rally on Monday and the intent of some of the individuals to potentially conduct violent acts down in Richmond," Jay Tabb, the executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch, said at an event put on by the Homeland Security Experts Group in Washington.
Seven men accused of belonging to a white supremacist group called The Base were arrested this week in separate raids in Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, and Wisconsin, according to authorities.
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"I think the FBI's got a fair sense of worry about Monday because of all the factors that you just talked about and because we can't account for everybody and everything. We have a degree of interest of some individuals that we know are at least saying that they will be there and we have no way to predict where rhetoric turns to violence," Tabb said, referring to the context of the rally: inflamed tension around gun laws, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and a historic Confederate celebration day in the area.
By David Shortell, CNN - CNN - Saturday, January 18, 2020
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I work downtown (for the next few weeks) and I went by the Capital on Friday to check it out. Lots of chain link fencing and barricades - not yet in place and filled with water. One entrance - 9th and Grace. See map below. Capital Square is 2 city blocks by 4 city blocks. As the map shows the capital and the Executive Mansion are in the square as well as several statutes. They have all the statues and monuments fenced off too. The numbers we are hearing have gone from 10,000 to 50,000 to (my wife heard) 80,000. It's going to be cramped.
We got an email Friday at work saying that we need to take our laptops home with us because if all goes wrong we may not be able to come to work on Tuesday. I take mine home everyday anyway.
They are blocking off everything from Main Street to 6th Street but not Broad, Bank St., or 14th (that is a serious uphill climb on 14th). VCU Health (MCV) is two blocks north of the Capital should there be injuries.
This guy Van Cleave, it seems to me, has lost control of this event as well as the Citizens Defense League in general. I've been listening to local talk radio and they are chomping at the bit for something to happen. The afternoon drive time guy is speaking at the rally. They've already whined about the sound being bad but that's the CDL's being cheap. They HATE the comparisons to Charlottesville but one caller actually pointed out that these kinds of events are rife for people to use them to establish themselves and cement a legacy. He was immediately cut off the air.
The CDL (more hard core than the NRA...they take donations too) and Gun Owners of America tried to get an injunction yesterday but a city court told them to pound sand and the state Supreme Court said the same. Of course Northam has the authority to do this. Elections have consequences. It's unlikely the SCOTUS will deal with it since Roberts is busy and given the arrests (yes radio listeners the Gov. DID have good intel on this) and the timeliness they are unlikely to go with something other than "better safe than sorry".
As curious as I am, I'm not going anywhere near there. I'll see if I can find a live stream at DGS or the Capital Police website. The Capital Police are the oldest police force in the country BTW.
