Quiet Sunday at California’s Capitol but tight security to remain through Inauguration Day

With an overwhelming show of force by law enforcement and National Guard troops, California’s state Capitol remained peaceful Sunday despite warnings of armed violence and demonstrations in advance of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.

By afternoon, only a few demonstrators had appeared, all of them repeating appearances they made Saturday.

One was an Eagle Scout holding a U.S. flag, two others were Biden supporters waving signs for the president-elect and alternately being cheered or jeered by passing motorists. Earlier in the day, a man with a loudspeaker preached about the Bible.

Another was a man who gave his name as Frank Unger and wore a sign around his neck reading, “Jail for Quid Pro Joe + Hunter Fire the Prosecutor or no $1 billion.”

On the east side of the Capitol, a man carrying a sign fashioned from a metal rake walked near the fence as California Highway Patrol officers watched, then leaned the sign against a trash can and walked away, officers said.

“Antifa,” the sign read. “Take 2 for insurrectile dysfunction.”

Jokes aside, authorities remain concerned about the potential for violence on Wednesday — Inauguration Day — and will remain at the tightly secured Capitol.

Authorities clearly are taking no chances.

At one point Sunday, more than two dozen Sacramento police and CHP officers were spread out in a small area cordoned off west of the Capitol where protests traditionally occur. Several National Guard troops also were posted there.

Hundreds of others were spread out throughout downtown, and police vehicles from agencies as far away as San Mateo County could be seen circling the Capitol while a CHP helicopter hovered overhead.

The precautions stem from the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, and authorities in Washington, D.C., have brought in more than 20,000 Guard troops in advance of the inauguration.

Airbnb canceled reservations in Washington to prevent extremists from obtaining housing during the event, and the company said in a statement Sunday that it was reviewing recent bookings in Sacramento “due to increased law enforcement and safety concerns.”

“If we confirm that guests are associated with a violent hate group or otherwise not allowed on our platform for violating certain community policies prohibiting violence or engaging in criminal activity, we will cancel those reservations and ban them from Airbnb,” the statement said. “We are in contact with local officials about this plan and, if appropriate, we may bring information to the attention of local law enforcement.”

In Sacramento, National Guard troops who began arriving Friday were out in force, with armored Humvees, troop transport trucks and other vehicles placed in front of entrances to state buildings, office complexes and the federal courthouse.

Trucks, loaded with cases of water bottles and boxes of granola bars, have been parked along Capitol Mall, and 10th Street between L and N streets on the west side of the Capitol has been sealed off to traffic, with pedestrians and bicyclists allowed in through steel barriers that have been set up.

Barriers also have been set up along Ninth Street, blocking access from the west to the Capitol, where authorities expect large numbers of demonstrators Sunday and again on Wednesday.

Sacramento’s antifa group has posted warnings on social media that it plans a large protest Wednesday, and posted photographs Saturday on Twitter of National Guard trucks stationed near the Capitol.

Hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers also were stationed in and around the Capitol, which has been sealed of with a 6-foot cyclone fence and a 3-foot steel barrier.

Concrete and steel barriers were also placed across 10th Street to prevent vehicles from entering the area where protesters typically gather.

Much of downtown was boarded up, and I Street remains closed at Seventh Street, where Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies were positioned behind steel barriers to prevent demonstrators from reaching the entrance to the Main Jail.

Barriers also have been placed in front of the doors to Golden 1 Center, where the Sacramento Kings play with no fans present because of COVID-19 precautions.

Despite that, many downtown restaurants and businesses have remained open. Days after a regional stay-at-home order was lifted for the coronavirus, K Street was filled with diners and shoppers who passed by Guard troops and Sacramento police.

Nearing sundown in the capital, law enforcement agencies were reporting essentially no demonstrations or signs of unrest. Representatives of both the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said it was a quiet day in the city.

“We’re hoping that this huge law enforcement presence” acts as a deterrent, said Officer Karl Chan, Sacramento Police Department spokesman.

Sgt. Kionna Rowe, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, said that joint law enforcement agencies are “ready and prepared should anything unexpected come up.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 9:34 AM.