THE Secret Service has reportedly issued a warning of mass armed protests in Washington DC before and after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
This comes after the FBI about armed pro-Donald Trump protests across all 50 states over the next fortnight.
The Daily Beast reports the Secret Service issued an intelligence bulletin warning of potentially violent demonstrations in the capital in the coming days.
The "Boogaloo Boys" movement — a loose internet-based network linked to right-wing extremism – have been identified as spearheading the protest.
They were set to hold a rally before the inauguration.
The bulletin states: “Although no civil disobedience has been confirmed, organizers have encouraged attendees to bring weapons to the event.”
Another protest aims to bring “armed citizens” out for a show of force across both state capitals and Washington, D.C.
This will be led by Tree of Liberty, which is affiliated with the Boogaloo, but they claim they aim for it to be peaceful.
The Secret Service has monitored the right-wing social-media network Parle, which has been de-platformed by Apple and Amazon.
'PHYSICALLY STOP THE STEAL'
They tracked one a user calling for a “Come and Take It” rally — a reference to the Spartan-Persian battle of Thermopylae — that calls on followers to “literally PHYSICALLY STOP THE STEAL.”
Meanwhile, the National Guard was on a 24-hour watch in the U.S. Capitol after last week's violence.
A large presence of guard members dressed in fatigues and carrying rifles guarded the outside of the building, while others lined its corridors.
Inside the House of Representatives was meeting to consider impeaching President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 riots, when his supporters stormed the building in a deadly rampage.
Now, some of the 20,000 National Guard troops ordered to Washington to secure the city before the inauguration have weapons in hand. Riot shields and gas masks are piled in the hallways.
Who are the Boogaloo Boys?
The so-called Boogaloo Boys movement appears to have originated late last year on internet forums.
Self-identifying members claim they are preparing for a second American Civil War — known as "The Boogaloo" — which some characterize as a race war.
The moniker is a reference to 1984 movie Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo — a frequently used internet meme when joking about unnecessary sequels.
Being so loosely organized, ideology often varies between individuals — but some have been linked to white supremacists and Neo-Nazis.
New fencing and other security measures have also gone up around the building that is seen by many as an important global symbol of democracy.
A seven-foot (two-metre) high fence has been erected around the Capitol, with metal barriers and National Guard troops protecting the congressional office buildings that surround it.
U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, said: "The attack on the Capitol was a violent insurrection that resulted in the spilling of American blood.
"And that's why extraordinary security measures have been taken.
"Officers were brutally beaten. The attackers wanted to assassinate Nancy Pelosi, hang Mike Pence, and hunt down sitting members of Congress.
"That's insurrection. That's sedition. That's lawlessness. That's terror."
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