Pence won't interfere with election certification despite Trump's pressure, officials say
President urges vice-president to subvert democracy while Washington DC prepares for protests planned by Trump supporters
US elections 2020
Trump protesters warned not to carry guns as Washington DC calls up National Guard
DC police chief says ahead of inauguration protests ‘there are people intent on coming to our city armed’
Peter Beaumont and agencies
Tue 5 Jan 2021 08.10 EST First published on Mon 4 Jan 2021 23.18 EST
Washington DC has mobilised the National Guard to help police planned protests by Donald Trump supporters in the lead-up to the congressional vote affirming Joe Biden’s election victory this week.
Amid fears of violence, Washington’s chief of police and mayor have issued warnings that the carrying of firearms to the protests is illegal and urged residents to avoid the areas where far right groups, including the Proud Boys, are planning to gather.
The protests are timed to come as the newly sworn in Congress meets on Wednesday to officially count and ratify electoral college ballots, the final formal step before President-elect Biden is sworn in on 20 January.
Officials disclosed that 300 local National Guard members would be deployed to help police, although they will not be carrying weapons.
Trump supporters are planning to rally on Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking to bolster the president’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and following suggestions he might make an appearance at one rally – at the Ellipse, close to the White House.
Restrictions on carrying guns have been introduced for the area from Monday to Thursday this week in addition to DC’s already tough firearms regulations.
DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, also issued a reminder that carrying firearms is illegal while in National Park Service areas, including the National Mall and Freedom Plaza, two areas protesters are expected to gather, while open possession of a firearm is also illegal throughout the city.
The moves come as Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, was arrested in DC and charged with destruction of property – a charge related to a previous pro-Trump protest – and for being in possession of two illegal magazines of ammunition and a high-capacity feeding device.
According to a report in the Washington Post last week, figures in the Proud Boys – which the FBI has said has “ties to white nationalism” – had encouraged members to drop their signature black to better avoid detection.
“The Proud Boys will turn out in record numbers on 6 Jan but this time with a twist,” Tarrio said on the messaging service Parler before his arrest. “We will not be wearing our traditional black and yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams.”
Other unnamed figures discussed their hopes for violence at the rallies on social media.
DC police have posted signs throughout the downtown area warning that carrying any sort of firearm is illegal and its acting police chief, Robert Contee, asked residents to tell authorities of anyone who might be armed. “There are people intent on coming to our city armed,” Contee said on Monday.
Concern has been mounting after previous pro-Trump rallies late last year involving the same groups ended with a spate of stabbings and several churches with a history of black worship were vandalised.
Far-right groups have also discussed on social media how to avoid laws banning open carry of weapons in DC and on federal land to bring guns close to the White House.
Enrique Tarrio, leader of rightwing Proud Boys, arrested ahead of rallies
Trump has repeatedly encouraged this week’s protests and hinted that he may get personally involved. Over the weekend, he retweeted a promotion for the rally with the message: “I will be there. Historic day!”
The febrile mood in Washington was also heightened by the declaration by newly elected congresswoman Lauren Boebert that she intended to carry her handgun in Congress.
The Republican from the town of Rifle, Colorado, released a video on Sunday in which she pledged to carry her gun around the city and in Congress, and walked around various streets.
She was reminded by the chief of police that she would be “subjected to the same penalties as anyone else that’s caught on the DC streets carrying a firearm”. A spokesman for the congresswoman said she was not in fact carrying a gun during the video shoot, despite appearances.
The District of Columbia for years has had tough handgun controls and open carry is illegal. Similarly, firearms are generally prohibited on the grounds of the Capitol. Members of Congress are allowed to have guns, however, in their congressional offices, according to a House source.
During a press conference on Monday, Bowser also asked local residents to stay away from downtown DC, and avoid confrontations with anyone who is “looking for a fight”.
A police sign near the White House reminds visitors of the capital’s strict firearms laws.
Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
In a statement on Monday evening, DC’s attorney general Karl Racine also condemned groups that plan to incite violence at the protests, referring to them as entities that “promote hate on a racial and religious basis”.
He said: “While we respect their right to protest, we will not tolerate criminal behaviour – and we should deny them the opportunity to cause chaos.”
At previous pro-Trump protests, police have sealed off Black Lives Matter Plaza itself, but the confrontations merely spilled out on to the surrounding streets.
Organisers plan to rally on Tuesday evening and again all day on Wednesday, including a 1pm march to the Capitol.
Expected attendees include high-level Trump supporters such as Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and Republican strategist Roger Stone, a longtime Trump devotee whose three-year prison sentence was commuted by Trump. Stone was convicted of repeatedly lying to Congress during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
During pro-Trump protests on 12 December, at least two local black churches had BLM banners torn down and set ablaze. Contee said the hate-crimes investigation into those incidents was ongoing and that his officers would be out in force around churches to prevent similar incidents.
