Sacramento braces for violent protests before Inauguration Day - San Francisco Chronicle

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A small army of police and National Guard began taking up positions, alongside portable fences, police dogs and spotlights, in normally placid downtown Sacramento as the state capital girded itself for possible disruptions and worse, in the days leading up to the presidential inauguration.

Workers in yellow vests dragged sections of new chain- link fencing into place around the 147-year-old stately State Capitol building, joining a ring of police barricades. Nearby, other workers hammered plywood over storefront windows and doors.

The battening down mirrored preparations in state capitals across the country as authorities vowed to make ready following the riot that shut down the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert warned of “growing intelligence” that more attacks could take place. She did not specify what it was, but her concern echoed notice by the FBI that unspecified demonstrations were expected in capital cities nationwide. The agency has reported tracking calls for armed gatherings.

“Peaceful protests are a cherished First Amendment right,” Schubert said. “Violence is not.”

Schubert, in a statement, said prosecution “to the fullest extent of the law” would befall anyone who tried to bring any of the following into a public building: firearms, deadly weapon, taser, stun gun, unlawful knife or unauthorized tear gas.

“This includes bear spray,” she said.

Army National Guard soldiers stand duty in front of a government building near the State Capitol in Sacramento.

Getting any of those items into the Capitol would seem nearly impossible following the calling up of 1,000 National Guard troops to join police officers, sheriff’s deputies and Highway Patrol officers. The California National Guard said in a statement it would also be sending its troops to Washington “to support law enforcement on Inauguration Day.”

Schubert called the Capitol takeover in Washington a “despicable ... assault on our democracy” and vowed to come down hard on anyone who tried doing the same thing in Sacramento.

The Sacramento Police Department vowed to “have a large presence of officers ... around the Capitol” in coming days.

“We will not be disclosing any specifics regarding plans, tactics or intelligence gathered,” the department said in a statement.

In recent months, the Capitol museum and its tour desk have been closed to visitors because of the pandemic. On Friday, the state Senate closed its public gallery after two women opposed to vaccination hollered threats at lawmakers. State Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said there was a “distinct difference between making an argument and threatening violence.”

With many local businesses shuttered because of the pandemic, it was not easy to discern which planks of plywood were in place due to election demonstrations and which were due to the economic downturn.