Police were on high alert early Thursday morning for possible violence at the U.S. Capitol amid warnings that a militia group may be plotting to breach the building in anticipation of former President Donald Trump’s return to power.
An unidentified group of “militia violent extremists” discussed plans in February to “take control of the U.S. Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4, according to a bulletin issued Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, Reuters reported.
A conspiracy theory marks March 4, the date when U.S. presidents were inaugurated until 1933, as the day Trump will be sworn in for a second term in office, despite his loss to Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the November election.
Biden took office on Jan. 20, two weeks after a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of Biden’s Electoral College win. Five people died during the siege, including a Capitol Police officer.
