It's been a little more than eight months since rioters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, swelling entry ways to the halls of Congress, as Donald Trump loyalists attempted to interrupt the certification of the 2020 election results. Now, authorities in the nation's capital are prepping for another rally planned on the grounds of the US Capitol on Saturday (September 18).
The "Justice for J6" rally –– organized in part by one of Trump's former campaign staffers –– seeks to call for justice for those who've been incarcerated or charged for their participation in the deadly January 6 insurrection.
Police are ramping up security, going so far as to monitor airports in the area, all in effort to prevent more violence at the Capitol. According to CNN, the fence around the Capitol has gone back up and law enforcement agencies are sharing information about potential threats.
"What we realized after January 6 is that we had gotten a little bit lax in some of the aggressive conversations. All of us had," said Melissa Smislova, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday (September 14) during a Homeland Security Forum.
"Some of it was just a lack of discipline, I think, a complacency, maybe even," she added, per a report by CNN.
Trump has incited more concerns about violence after releasing statements ahead of the rally calling insurrectionists, "people being persecuted so unfairly" while continuing to lie about the election being "rigged."
Counter-protesters are also expected to make their way to the area, adding to the situation at hand.
"There's right now more people with their ears to the ground that I've ever seen before, that if a threat does pop up or information does, someone becomes aware of it, that it hopefully will not be left in a memo that doesn't get to people or report that people don't read," a law enforcement source told the news organization.
Capitol Police have been in contact with the rally organizers and took several steps to secure the area that they didn't back in January.
"We have talked to the military and we have multiple agencies assisting," Capitol Police said in a statement to CNN. "We cannot provide specifics as we do not want to give away security sensitive info."
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