BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Police will be on high alert Saturday for the “Justice for J6” rally at the U.S. Capitol, and officers from Maryland could be called in to help. Possibly hundreds of people are expected to gather in support of those charged in the January 6th riot.
USCP Prepared for September 18 Demonstration: https://t.co/OT8FHewII9 pic.twitter.com/iRMz7WlMiO
— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) September 13, 2021
“Last week the Capitol Police Board issued an emergency declaration, which will go into effect about the time of the demonstration and allow the Department to deputize outside law enforcement officers as United States Capitol Police Special Officers,” the U.S. Capitol police said in a statement. “We want to reassure everyone these are temporary measures to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Chief Thomas Manger. “We are extremely grateful for the support we continue to receive from the local community and our congressional stakeholders as we carry out our critical mission.”
READ MORE: Maryland Weather: Clouds & More Clouds, Plus Friday's An Alert DayIntelligence suggests extremist groups will be in attendance.
New cameras, on loan from the Department of Defense, have been installed around the Capitol. Security fencing will also return temporarily, but Chief Manager said it will be taken down soon after the event.
Michael Greenberger founded the University of Maryland Carey School of Law’s Center for Health and Homeland Security. “Domestic terrorism is a very serious threat. We will not always get advanced notice,” he said.
Greenberger is hopeful things will not get out of hand because there is enough advanced notice, and law enforcement is taking this more seriously than in January.
“As a general matter, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have to be on alert. I do not see this Saturday as being of consequence because the lesson was learned on January 6th,” Professor Greenberger told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
More than a dozen people from Maryland have been charged in the January 6th attack, and many of those cases are still winding their way through the courts.
They include that of Daniel Egtvedt from Western Maryland who allegedly confronted officers inside the Capitol that day. They later threw him out of the building.
Another Marylander charged in connection with the January 6th riot at the US Capitol. Daniel Egtvedt is accused of fighting repeatedly with officers in the halls of the Capitol “screaming at the top of his lungs” and shouting “shoot me” at police. @wjz pic.twitter.com/osNnHtDAb5
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) February 19, 2021
The FBI raided the home of defendant Elias Costianes in Baltimore County.
READ MORE: Jury Acquits Man Of Murder Of Baltimore Anti-Violence Advocate Dante BarksdaleBREAKING: First on #WJZ: Federal complaint unsealed against Baltimore County man Elias Costianes for alleged participation in Capitol riot; videos show him in Senate elevator and entering Senate chambers @wjz pic.twitter.com/Ew5mKq4L6u
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) March 4, 2021
Matthew Miller is a Howard County teen accused of scaling the Capitol draped in a Maryland flag.
Matthew Miller of Howard County pleaded not guilty today to allegations he rioted at the US Capitol and used a fire extinguisher to attack police; judge will release him if pretrial can set up GPS monitoring. @wjz pic.twitter.com/Y9mNoyo2uD
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) February 16, 2021
David Blair is accused of attacking an officer with a lacrosse stick that had a confederate flag attached to it.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1371291/download
“They thought it was a free pass. Many of them used the excuse President Trump was cheering us on,” Greenberger told Hellgren. “Many thought they got a get-out-of-jail-free card, but the prosecutions show there are consequences.”
Greenberger fears, even though law enforcement is better prepared, the threat America faces from domestic terrorism is on the rise.
“There are a lot of people in the country who are angry over various things, and if they’re not watched carefully, they can present very serious problems. January 6th was an example of that,” he said.
U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man from California Monday who had a bayonet and machete in his truck — which was painted with white supremacist symbols, including swastikas — near the Democratic National Committee headquarters early Monday morning.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-with-bayonet-knives-in-truck-arrested-near-dnc-headquarters/
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