No visible signs of increased security at Indiana Statehouse
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The FBI has issued a warning of possible violent protests at all 50 state capitols after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 when hundreds of rioters entered the building and attempted to overtake it.
The Indiana Statehouse security is run by the State Capitol Police, which is part of the Indiana State Police. As of Wednesday night, Indiana State Police say it’s not aware of any planned protest at the Statehouse.
Protests have become a more common occurrence at the Statehouse. Last week, a group of protesters had a rally on the east steps of the Statehouse. They said they would be back for another protest on Inauguration Day.
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Steven Webster, a professor of political science at Indiana University, believes Hoosiers can expect more violence in the coming weeks.
Webster said, “One thing that we see is there is a lot of rhetoric from a lot of political officials that they are sort of fanning the flames of this anger and this violence we saw, multiple speakers at the rally the president held on the Ellipse before this mob attacked the Capitol, and the very sad thing about this is these are elected officials. These are people that hold offices of public trust.”
Webster says, though the actions at the Capitol were extreme, they were not unexpected. “So, we have seen rising anger among the mass public. We have seen extremely and inflammatory rhetoric from political officials, and then you marry this with a distrust in the intuitions of the electoral process, I think, for a lot of people, this was sort of the logical outcome of those trends.”
Security has been increased at the Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky statehouses. No visible increases in security have been seen at the Indiana Statehouse.
Statements
“We will continue to monitor while also communicating with our local and federal law enforcement partners. While we do not speak to specifics, we are prepared to provide the necessary security for the Statehouse and its adjacent campus.”
Indiana State Police statement
“Our efforts are focused on identifying, investigating, and disrupting individuals that are inciting violence and engaging in criminal activity. we are gathering information to identify any potential threats and are sharing that information with our partners. The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Our focus is not on peaceful protesters,”
FBI-Indianapolis statement