Thousands of people are assembling in Richmond, Virginia today for the gun rights rally being led by the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America.
Law enforcement officials are on high alert since many pro-Second Amendment activists arrived in order to protest a number of gun control proposals currently under consideration by the state legislature. ABC News reports that one of the proposals being protested is a ban on assault rifles, while another one is a “red flag” law that would allow officials to confiscate weapons from people suspected of posing a public threat.
Governor Ralph Northam (D) has expressed concern about the rally, and last week, he issued a temporary state of emergency to ban all weapons from Capitol Square until Tuesday night. Northam and others have expressed concern that the rally could be infiltrated by violent extremists and white nationalists looking for an opportunity to repeat the infamous 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.
“They are not coming to peacefully protest, they are coming to intimidate and to cause harm,” Northam said.
So far, the event has been a peaceful mix of pro-gun rallying, anti-gun protests and a number of other political demonstrations. Check out a few pics from the scene below.
The street is completely packed pic.twitter.com/PwSuABiRFj
— Marie Albiges (@MarieAlbiges) January 20, 2020
More scenes from Richmond. So far it’s been a calm day. Many people are outside the Capitol grounds and openly carrying as others entering pass through security. Chants of “USA” and singing the national anthem pic.twitter.com/sCRmFNLSdC
— Ryan Miller (@RyanW_Miller) January 20, 2020
Many law abiding citizens are excersizing their constitutional right to carry their firearms in Richmond Virginia. #VirginiaRally #LobbyDay
: @Julio_Rosas11 pic.twitter.com/JAcctBb6pC
— Michael Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) January 20, 2020
: Alex Jones is here. He says the governor is “trying to create a crisis” and that this is a “psychological false flag”. He’s just entered the gun-free perimeter accompanied by two bodyguards. #Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/1hkRTU2FSO
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) January 20, 2020
‘Come and Take It’ selfies outside the Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, for the gun rights rally today pic.twitter.com/31jv1KKUix
— Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 20, 2020
There’s a LOT of people out here for the #Richmond2ARally, and this is 4 hours before official start time.
I’m going to livestream at https://t.co/j6I8lNTpRc. I won’t be tweeting much because I’ll be there live basically all day, cell service permitting. #Richmond pic.twitter.com/bZgP23uLXe
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 20, 2020
Wow, look at all these “white nationalists.” cc: @oneunderscore__ pic.twitter.com/zQM8rZ6WZG
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 20, 2020
Many law abiding citizens are excersizing their constitutional right to carry their firearms in Richmond Virginia. #VirginiaRally #LobbyDay
: @Julio_Rosas11 pic.twitter.com/JAcctBb6pC
— Michael Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) January 20, 2020
Watch above, via Daily Caller.