'Armed Marches' Threatened In Virginia Before Biden Inauguration

VIRGINIA — In the wake of the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week, security groups are warning about continued threats from far-right extremists nationwide, including in Virginia.

Flyers calling for an "armed march on all state capitols" in the closing days of Donald Trump's presidency have been circulating the internet for days, alarming researchers and security analysts tracking online threats on several social media platforms.

In Richmond, a State of Emergency has been declared due to the credible threats of planned protests leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, which will take place on Jan. 20. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney requested that the city council declare the State of Emergency, which was unanimously approved earlier this week.

At least 1,000 troops from the Virginia National Guard have been deployed to Washington, D.C. in advance of next week's inauguration and that number could double as threats of more violence continue, state officials said.

On Tuesday, the collection of law enforcement agencies that are charged with providing security at the State Capitol building — including Virginia Capitol Police, the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and others — issued a statement saying that a Unified Command “stands ready to protect legislators, City of Richmond residents and businesses and visitors.”

The formation of the Unified Command took place before Wednesday when Virginia's General Session convened for its annual session. A spokesman for the Virginia Capitol Police did not specifically address preparation for any planned armed marches that may take place on Sunday in Richmond in an email to Patch on Wednesday. Instead, he referenced a social media post from the unified Command that was put online Tuesday.

The statement continues, “Any violation of law, non-peaceful demonstrators or attempts to intimidate fellow Virginians will not be tolerated. Those who engage in such behavior will be held accountable.”

The violence in D.C. brought criticism against security plans for the event by officials, who some say were woefully unprepared. The FBI warned state officials about these potential threats to state capitols in a memo circulated on Dec. 29, before the Capitol attack occurred, according to a Yahoo News report Monday.

Much of the unrest is planned in the lead-up to Biden’s inauguration. The marches on state capitols are called for on Sunday, Jan. 17, the final Sunday of the Trump presidency.

The online flyers have found a home on pro-Trump forums such as Parler and The Donald, which researchers with the SITE Intelligence group said openly organized the violence in Washington, D.C., and interpreted Trump's statements as orders. Parler's website was offline Monday after Amazon removed it from its web hosting service, and Apple and Google removed it from their app stores. Parler has filed a lawsuit in response.

"When democracy is destroyed, refuse to be silenced," one advertisement reads. "Come armed at your personal discretion."

SITE published a report Sunday that indicated further violence was threatened. "No matter how all this plays out, it's only the beginning," the report quotes one Parler user.

While other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have moved to ban or temporarily close Trump's accounts and others that they say are fomenting insurrection and violence, the flyers have continued to be widely disbursed on those sites, too.

Other unrest is planned in D.C. on Jan. 20, the day of the inauguration, and is called alternatively a "Million Militia March" or a "Million Martyr March."

"We will come in numbers that no standing army or police agency can match," one Parler post read. "However, the police are NOT Our enemy, unless they choose to be!"

As threats continue online, House Democrats moved Monday to introduce an article of impeachment against Trump for what they described as his incitement of the violence last week. Democrats have been joined by some Republicans in calling for Trump's removal or resignation.