THE FBI has warned of a number of armed protests by Trump supporters in the lead-up to Inaguration Day.
Joe Biden is to be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on 20 January, but what is usually a large celebration for the winning party has this year been marred with fears of further violence.
Last Wednesday, hundreds of pro-Trump supporters who believe the election had been stolen from them due to the President's repeated, baseless claims of voter fraud, stormed the US Capitol as Congress worked to confirm the Electoral College votes.
Lawmakers were evacuated as crowds broke into the building, with a total of five people losing their lives in the violence, including a police officer who had "physically engaged" with rioters, and a woman who was shot by police as she attempted to storm the building.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Now the FBI have warned that multiple armed protests have been planned, mainly by pro-Trump demonstrators, across all 50 states, in the days leading up to the inauguration.
According to ABC News, an internal FBI bulletin warned that "Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the U.S. Capitol from 17 January through 20 January."
Multiple arrests have been made since mobs, who have been labelled domestic terrorists by lawmakers and by President-Elect Biden, stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, and the FBI are asking the public to help identify those who were present.
In further worrying developments, US army troops set to be deployed to Washington for the inauguration of Joe Biden may be investigated to ensure they do not sympathise with domestic terrorists.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: DC National Guard troops stand watch at the U.S. Capitol on January 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. Fencing was put up around the building the day before, following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)Member of the US House of Representatives and Army Veteran Jason Crow told Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy that all troops who are set to be deployed for Biden's inauguration should be investigated, after it was found that a number of pro-Trump rioters who broke into the US Capitol Building on Wednesday were active members of the military or had previously served.
According to Military.com, Mr Crow asked Army Secretary McCarthy that all military members involved in the riot receive fast-tracked investigation and courts-martial, and requested that National Guard troops deployed for the inauguration be investigated "to ensure that deployed members are not sympathetic to domestic terrorists".
