Living in the capitol city means living near protests, demonstrations, marches, and rallies which happen more often than most people realize. Sometimes protesters occupy the freeway and close it for hours. Most protests are peaceful but they don’t make the news as often as the protests that turn violent do.
After what happened in Washington DC on January 6th the local police, state police, and national guard are ready for almost anything, including violence leading up to the inauguration of Joeseph Biden, next Wednesday.
There will be two events held at the Minnesota State Capitol this weekend. On Saturday “freedom fest” and on Sunday ” Sunday church”. The freedom fest is also called “Hold the line MN” and is for “patriots” who are rallying behind President Trump. Sunday’s event is to pray for elected officials.
Protests at the Governor’s mansion on Summit avenue are also popular. This past year there have been several protests around the governor’s “stay safe” orders because of the pandemic.
We are being warned that a far-right extremist group that wants a civil war scouted out the capitol building this week and may want to blow it up.
The Minnesota capitol building itself is a target for mayhem. I drove by it earlier this week and there are fences and barricades around it and state police hanging out too. The threat of domestic terrorism is very real.
I hope we get through the weekend without any injuries, loss of life, or property damage. I also hope that gatherings do not become super spreader events.
