CT Prepares After FBI Memo Warns Of Armed State Capitol Protests

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut officials are making preparations after the FBI issued a bulletin that warned of armed protests being planned at all 50 state capitols from now until Inauguration Day.

“We’ll be ready, but I have a high degree of confidence that Connecticut is going to stay peaceful,” Gov. Ned Lamont said during a Monday news conference.

State police are working with national law enforcement to track social media for any potential threats, Lamont said.

Law enforcement is conducting security assessments on various state buildings and Lamont is receiving daily security updates up until at least Inauguration Day, said Chief of Staff Paul Mounds. The updates contain information from the FBI but also other sources monitored by state police about actions that could potentially happen over the weekend, he said.

The FBI bulletin also warned state police agencies to increase security measures around capitol buildings.

The state Capitol Police have erected barriers at the state Capitol and have also added extra patrols to the area, according to the Hartford Courant.

Around 500 protesters were at the state Capitol Jan. 6 for the opening legislative session ceremony, according to the Courant. They were mostly peaceful except for the arrest of an anti-vaccination protester who spat on a Black Lives Matter protester.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut National Guard has been directed to be ready to provide any support in Washington, D.C. if requested, Mounds said. So far no requests to Connecticut have been made.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT, said that state police and the Connecticut FBI field office are working together to investigate Connecticut residents who were part of the riot at the U.S. Capitol or are planning violence.

I have had phone calls today with the State Police and the CT FBI field office. They are working to bring to justice any CT residents who (1) were part of the January 6 riot or (2) are planning any similar seditious acts leading up to inauguration (in or outside our state).
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/ChrisMurph... 11, 2021

Murphy along with two other Democratic senators asked Department of Defense Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller for more information about how troops could be deployed quicker to defend the U.S. Capitol from attack.

“On Wednesday, it was clear early on that the Capitol Police did not have the manpower or the ability to defend the United States Capitol from invasion and insurrection,” he said at a news conference. “And yet, it took four hours for the Department of Defense, specifically the National Guard to get any kind of true presence to defend the Capitol from attack.”

Murphy said the entire defense of the U.S. Capitol needs a top to bottom review to make sure it is never subjected to an attack like Jan. 6 again.

“To me, Wednesday is a before and after moment. We need to take a look at radical reform in the way that the Capitol is protected. In part because I don't think this insurgency is over,” he said.