Kentucky political leaders form group to evaluate Capitol security after FBI warning
Kentucky’s political leaders are forming a group to evaluate the Kentucky Capitol’s security less than a week after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 Presidential election results.
The decision to evaluate the Capitol’s safety comes after the FBI issued a warning that armed protests are being planned at all 50 state Capitols between January 16 and January 20 and that some of the people are members of extremist groups, according to the Associated Press.
There is a protest scheduled at Kentucky’s Capitol on January 17, according to Beshear. The number 17 has significance among those who believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory, because Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet.
Beshear’s spokeswoman, Crystal Staley, said the governor met with House and Senate leadership about the issue Tuesday and that they will form a group to perform a “security evaluation” of the Capitol.
House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, had asked earlier Tuesday to meet with Cameron and Beshear about the issue because they have staff in the Capitol building throughout the year, compared to the part-time legislature.
“They are the security experts and they occupy these offices year-round and we don’t,” Osborne said.
The Secretary of State’s office and the Kentucky Supreme court also occupy the building year round but were not mentioned by Osborne. Cameron’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Control over security measures in the Capitol rests with Beshear, who said during his Monday COVID-19 update that he would consult with the legislative and judicial branches before making any changes to Capitol security policies.
“Right now, our Capitol is significantly restricted to visitation, just in general,” Beshear said Monday.
Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, is working on legislation that aims to balance the rights of protesters with the ability for families and visitors at the Capitol to feel safe. Carroll said he has never liked that guns are allowed inside the building, either openly or concealed, believing they should be checked at the door like at federal courthouses.
“We don’t need to wait until something bad happens to make changes,” said Carroll, the former chief of police in Paducah.
Currently, Kentuckians can carry a gun in the Capitol building, either open or concealed, as long as they declare it to security when they enter. However, the rules require handguns to be holstered and rifles to be hanging. Guns are not allowed in the Supreme Court chambers, the House and Senate chambers and the House and Senate gallery.
Last year, masked and armed protesters drew public outcry when they wandered around the Capitol while the legislature was in session. Photos of the protesters went viral and were picked up by national media.
That was before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths, including one police officer.
Kentucky State Police has been on alert in the days since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. KSP has stationed more officers around the Capitol building and each entrance to the Capitol, including on Saturday when a group of heavily armed self-described “militia members” held a rally at the Capitol and gave speeches denouncing U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Andy Beshear.
After the “militia” groups had gone home for the day, Osborne described the rally as “peaceful.”
“It was by all appearances a peaceful rally,” Osborne said. “It’s been scheduled, I understand, for quite some time and had nothing to do with what happened in Washington. I didn’t hear any complaints.”
The group held a moment of silence and took a lap around the Capitol in honor of Ashli Babbitt, one of the Trump supporters who was killed while inside the Capitol on January 6.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 11:54 AM.
