Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered a temporary ban on weapons, including firearms, from state Capitol grounds ahead of a scheduled gun rights rally next week.
Northam declared a state of emergency Wednesday ahead of the rally, planned for Monday, citing “credible and serious threats.” The ban is in effect from this 5 p.m. Friday through 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“What we have seen and heard in recent weeks has the potential to go far beyond these constitutionally protected rights,” the Democratic governor said. “We’re seeing threats of violence. We’re seeing threats of armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol.”
A statement from the governor’s office on the order reads, in part:
The Governor’s declaration prohibits all weapons, including firearms, from Capitol grounds, and will provide joint law enforcement and public safety agencies the resources they need to keep demonstrators, policymakers, and all Virginians safe.
Banned weapons include bats, shields, helmet and razor blades. Read Northam’s state of emergency declaration here.
The order also establishes a unified command between Virginia State Police, Capitol police, Richmond police and other first responders.
“We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday,” Northam said. “This includes out-of-state militia groups and hate groups planning to travel from across the country to disrupt our democratic process with acts of violence.”
He added that state intelligence analysts have identified threats and violent rhetoric similar to what happened before other major events, such as 2017’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.
“These conversations are fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories,” Northam said.
Because Monday is a holiday, Northam also asked nonessential personnel to not come to downtown Richmond then.
Though the gun rights rally, organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, had been in the works for some time, Northam called on rally organizers to disavow anyone who planned to use the event “to advance a violent agenda” and to discourage people from out of state to push such an agenda.
A state official source told The Associated Press that though the state does not have knowledge about a specific act of violence planned, Northam was concerned about social media postings from forces outside of Virginia; one post apparently included a photo of an AR-15 and said there are “great angles from certain buildings” near Capitol Square.
Northam’s announcement Wednesday comes days after Democratic leaders used a special rules committee to ban guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building. That ban did not include Capitol grounds, which are under the governor’s control and are where a huge number of gun-rights advocates are expected to rally Monday.
Democrats have full control of the statehouse for the first time in a generation and are set to pass a number of gun-control restrictions, including limiting handgun purchases to once a month and universal background checks on gun purchases.
Republicans and gun-rights groups have pledged stiff resistance. Gun owners are descending on local government offices to demand they establish sanctuaries for gun rights. More than 100 counties, cities and towns have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and vowed to oppose any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on guns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
