RICHMOND, Va. -- The convoys and militias are coming, if social media posts are to be believed. They are headed to Virginia's capital on Monday to take a stand for gun rights -- or, in the words of some, to fan the flames of a civil war.
"I'll be rolling into town early. I can't give you my exact time for security reasons," said Christian Yingling, head of the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia and a leader at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
"I organized a convoy, places we can meet up and drive up together. I'll be leading it," said Tammy Lee, a militia activist in Oklahoma.
Lee and Yingling were members of groups that signed consent decrees never to return to Charlottesville while armed, part of a lawsuit settlement over the violence there. But there is no restriction on going to Richmond.
Thousands will join them, they say, for a rally Monday on Capitol Square to protest plans by the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly to pass gun-control laws. State and federal officials are preparing for a volatile mix of weapons, passions and anti-government fervor. Central Richmond was braced for road closures and a large police presence.
President Donald Trump weighed in Friday afternoon on Twitter. "Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia," Trump tweeted.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam last week declared a state of emergency and issued a ban on firearms or other weapons on Capitol grounds. The state Supreme Court upheld the ban after a challenge by two gun-rights groups. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions for Richmond airspace, making it illegal to fly planes or drones over the city Monday. Northam has said officials are concerned about threats from weaponized drones.
On Thursday, the FBI arrested three alleged members of a white supremacist group on gun charges, in part out of concern that they planned to attend the Richmond rally and incite violence.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun advocacy group, sponsors what has always been a peaceful rally every year on Lobby Day, which coincides with the state's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The pro-gun rally is always the most visible event, but this year it has virtually wiped out everything else. The citizens defense league has appealed for 10,000 supporters to show up unarmed to fill Capitol Square and asked several times that many to stand outside with weapons.
Northam told all nonessential staff members to stay home, and many lawmakers urged aides to stay away, though committees will still meet, and both chambers will convene floor sessions. The young pages who run errands in the House and Senate were given the day off for their safety.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence canceled its annual vigil and lobbying day, announcing the decision on Twitter "with a heavy heart." The organization's state director, Lori Haas, said it was because of "ongoing, credible threats to public safety that have been promoted ... by gun extremists."
Outside the Capitol, authorities used tall chain-link barriers to create a pie-shaped pen for the rally. The area takes up about a third of Capitol Square, a manicured park dotted with monuments that were protected with additional fencing, as was the Executive Mansion to the east.
The square is usually open on all sides to foot traffic. Under Northam's emergency order, access is restricted to one spot, at Ninth and East Grace streets. Just inside that entrance, the crowd will be split into 17 lines for screening with metal detectors.
Anyone attempting to take in weapons will be turned away, but police will not confiscate those items, officials have said. Demonstrators who do not want to part with their guns may remain armed on city streets. Authorities say they will cut off admission to the rally once the crowd hits a certain number, which they have declined to disclose.
Police expect rallygoers to start lining up tonight, despite low temperatures in the forecast. Authorities are setting up two medical tents in the area in case of injuries.
The hoopla is focused on promises by Northam to enact gun control measures this year, including limiting handgun purchases to one per month, banning assault weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a "red flag" law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat.
Philip Van Cleave, the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said he toured the grounds with Capitol police Friday to get a sense of the layout. He said he was hoping for a peaceful rally.
"The frustrating thing to me is, if something does happen, that'll be all people talk about," Van Cleave said. "My view is, we have no control. We're telling police everything we know about and trusting them to do their job."
A Section on 01/19/2020