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Arms demonstration scares the United States

Published 20 January 2020 at 04.03
FOREIGN. Thousands of gun rights activists and militia members are expected to attend a demonstration
in Richmond, Virginia on Monday. The scared politicians have acted by announcing emergency permits
to prevent them being "stormed" by "armed militia groups".
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The annual event, organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, usually attracts only a
few hundred gun enthusiasts. But this year, thousands of people from different groups around
the US are expected to show up.

The reason is that the Democratic Party has taken over the formerly highly conservative state
of Virginia and plans to impose a number of restrictions on the right to bear arms, guaranteed
by the US Constitution.

- We will not be silent anymore. We will fight them in the courts and on the street.
The illegal laws that they propose are simply unconstitutional, "Timothy Forster, a gun rights activist,
told the AP.

In American media, the manifesto is compared to Unite the Right, which was organized by alt-right
groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. That time, violence erupted when large groups of
left-wing extremists attacked protesters after the governor declared a state of emergency and the
police declared the licensed march illegal.

According to the AP, the police are vacuuming the internet for the purpose of finding potential criminals
who may appear at Monday's manifesto in Richmond. Federal police arrested three men on Thursday
from the The Base organization, described by the AP as a "violent white power group," allegedly planning
to participate in the demonstration.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on Wednesday a temporary emergency permit banning
the possession of weapons at Capitol Square, where the demonstration will be held, to prevent "armed
militia groups storming our government building".

A fence has also been erected around the state government building.
A politician also states that he intends to flee to a safe place to stay there during the manifestation,
the AP writes.
Republican state senator Amanda Chase describes on Facebook the manifestation as a "trap" liked
by local politicians. By announcing emergency permits, the authorities can classify participants in the
demonstration as domestic terrorists.
The only thing required is that the participants wear some form of symbol that shows that they belong
to a militia group, warns Chase. 
 

Gun-rights activists gear up for show of force in Virginia
An unprecedented show of force by gun-rights activists is expected on Monday in Virginia

By
BY ALAN SUDERMAN and DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press

19 January 2020, 00:54
6 min read






These undated photos provided by Floyd County, Ga., Police show from left, Luke Austin Lane of Floyd County,
Jacob Kaderli of Dacula, and Michael Helterbrand of Dalton, Ga.

FBI spokesman Kevin Rowson said Friday, Jan 20, 2020, that agents assisted in the arrests of the three Georgia
men linked to The Base, a violent white supremacist group, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and
participating in a criminal street gang.
Details of their cases have been sealed by a judge, Floyd County police Sgt. Chris Fincher said. (Floyd County
Police via APThe Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. -- Police are scouring the internet for clues about plans for mayhem, workers are
putting up chain link holding pens around Virginia's picturesque Capitol Square, and one lawmaker
even plans to hide in a safe house in advance of what's expected to be an unprecedented show of
force by gun-rights activists.

What is provoking their anger in this once reliably conservative state is the new Democratic majority
leadership and its plans to enact a slew of gun restrictions. This clash of old and new has made
Virginia - determined to prevent a replay of the Charlottesville violence in 2017 - ground zero in the
nation's raging debate over gun control.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League's yearly rally at the Capitol typically draws just a few hundred gun
enthusiasts. This year, however, thousands of gun activists are expected to turn out.

Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they
see as a national erosion of gun rights.

“We’re not going to be quiet anymore. We’re going to fight them in the courts and on the ground.
The illegal laws they’re proposing are just straight up unconstitutional,” said Timothy Forster, of
Chesterfield, Virginia, an NRA member who had one handgun strapped to his shoulder and another
tucked into his waistband as he stood outside a legislative office building earlier this week.

VCDL president Philip Van Cleave said he's heard from groups around the country that plan to send
members to Virginia, including the Nevada-based, far-right Oath Keepers, which has promised to
organize and train armed posses and militia.

Extremist groups have blanketed social media and online forums with ominous messages and hinted
at potential violence. The FBI said it arrested three men linked to a violent white supremacist group
Thursday who were planning to attend the rally in Richmond, according to a law enforcement official
who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation.

Democrats have permanently banned guns inside the Capitol, and Gov. Ralph Northam declared a
temporary state of emergency Wednesday that bans all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square,
during the rally to prevent "armed militia groups storming our Capitol.”

Gun-rights groups asked the Virginia Supreme Court to rule Northam's declaration unconstitutional,
but the court on Friday upheld the ban.

Northam said there were credible threats of violence - like weaponized drones being deployed over Capitol
Square. On Friday, the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction, including for drones, over Capitol airspace
during the rally.

The governor said some of the rhetoric used by groups planning to attend Monday's rally is reminiscent
of that used ahead of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. One woman was killed
and more than 30 other people were hurt when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter
protesters there.

The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police are all coordinating the
eventand have plans for a huge police presence at Monday's rally that will include both uniformed and
plainclothes officers.

Police plan to limit access to Capitol Square to only one entrance and have warned rally-goers that they
may have to wait hours to get past security screening.

Nonessential state staff were being told to stay away. Del. Lee Carter, a Democratic Socialist, said he’s
planning to spend Monday at an undisclosed location because of threats he has received.
“I ain’t interested in martyrdom,” Carter tweeted.

Northam lamented that such precautions were necessary for what's been a peaceful yearly event,
but said pro-gun activists have “unleashed something larger, something they may not be able to
control."

House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert said in a statement on Saturday that his caucus rejects any
attempt to “infuse any kind of twisted or extreme worldview into this fundamentally democratic
exercise.”

“While we and our Democratic colleagues may have differences, we are all Virginians and we we will
stand united in opposition to any threats of violence or civil unrest from any quarter," Gilbert said.

The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities
in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November. Much of the opposition has focused on a
proposed assault weapons ban, which would affect thousands of owners of the popular AR-15-style rifles.

One version of the bill, which Democrats later disavowed, would have required current owners of the
rifles to turn them in or face felony charges.

That bill was the spark that created the massive pushback, according to Sen. Creigh Deeds, one of the
few moderate Democrats left in Virginia who represents rural areas.
“That allowed people who like to inflame passions to say, ‘Look, they’re really coming after your guns,
they're coming after you,'” Deeds said.

Thousands of gun owners from around the state packed municipal meetings to urge local officials
to declare their communities “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” opposed to “unconstitutional" gun
restrictions like universal background checks.
More than 125 cities, towns and counties have approved sanctuary resolutions in Virginia.

Gun-control advocates, meanwhile, have also been flocking to Richmond to show their support for the
proposed legislation. More than 200 volunteers with Moms Demand Action held a rally on Jan. 6. Gun
control became a leading issue in the 2019 Virginia legislative elections after a city employee in Virginia
Beach opened fire on his co-workers in May, killing 12 and injuring four others.

Janet Woody, a retired librarian from Richmond and a Moms volunteer, said she believes the proposed
package of legislation can help reduce gun violence.
“I just feel so angry and helpless because of all these massacres," she said. “You can call your legislator
or write, but there comes a point where you just have to get out in the street."

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