The US Capitol Police Department said Wednesday it had received information showing a “possible conspiracy to breach the Capitol” on Thursday “by an unidentified militia group”.
“We take this information seriously,” said the Capitol Police in a press release that also said the authorities are prepared for possible violence.
“Due to the sensitive nature of this information, we cannot provide any additional details at this time.”
The warning came a day after the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI sent an intelligence bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies warning that some domestic groups were “discussing plans to take control of the U.S. Capitol and Democratic lawmakers on or.” to remove March 4th “. “A senior police officer told NBC News on Wednesday.
The exposure of the potential threat comes almost two months after the Capitol uprising on Jan. 6, when thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump broke into the halls of Congress and disrupted the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s election.
Five people died in connection with the attack, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
March 4th is considered a significant date by some extremists, especially among supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, as it was the date for the presidential inauguration until 1937. Some QAnon supporters believe that that day Trump can take back power.
The joint Homeland Security and FBI bulletin states that “domestic violent extremists” or “militia-violent extremists” were encouraged by the January 6 attack and are therefore at greater risk.
The bulletin states that extremists continue to “perceive electoral fraud and other conspiracy theories related to the presidential transition that can help (domestic violent extremists) mobilize to violence without warning”.
Trump has falsely claimed for months that he lost the election to Biden due to widespread election fraud. No such fraud was found.
The Capitol Police said in their statement on Wednesday that they “know and are prepared to face possible threats to members of Congress or the Capitol complex.”
“We have already made significant security improvements to ensure the creation of a physical structure and increase in the workforce to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers,” the police said in their statement.
“Our department is working with our local, state and federal partners to halt any threat to the Capitol.”
