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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/citing-threats-virginia-bans-weapons-gun-rights-rally-n1116646
Virginia declares emergency as tensions escalate over gun-rights rally
Organizers have "unleashed something much larger, something they might not be able to control," Virginia's governor said.
Jan. 15, 2020, 5:34 PM EST / Updated Jan. 16, 2020, 10:16 AM EST
By Jon Schuppe
Fearing a repeat of the deadly march by white nationalists in Charlottesville in 2017, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned people from carrying guns and other weapons on the grounds of the state Capitol, where thousands of gun rights activists are expected to rally next week against stricter gun control laws.
Northam said he made the call after hearing "credible intelligence" from law enforcement that armed militias and hate groups, some from outside Virginia, planned to disrupt the event. He said the threats of violence, picked up on the internet and on dark web channels by state intelligence analysts, included "conversations fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories" similar to talk that preceded the "Unite the Right" march in August 2017, at which white nationalists clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove into a crowd.
"They are not coming to peacefully protest. They are coming to cause intimidation and to cause harm," Northam, a Democrat, said at a news conference.
The temporary weapons ban and the state of emergency will be lifted Tuesday, he said.
</snip>
Virginia declares emergency as tensions escalate over gun-rights rally
Organizers have "unleashed something much larger, something they might not be able to control," Virginia's governor said.
Jan. 15, 2020, 5:34 PM EST / Updated Jan. 16, 2020, 10:16 AM EST
By Jon Schuppe
Fearing a repeat of the deadly march by white nationalists in Charlottesville in 2017, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned people from carrying guns and other weapons on the grounds of the state Capitol, where thousands of gun rights activists are expected to rally next week against stricter gun control laws.
Northam said he made the call after hearing "credible intelligence" from law enforcement that armed militias and hate groups, some from outside Virginia, planned to disrupt the event. He said the threats of violence, picked up on the internet and on dark web channels by state intelligence analysts, included "conversations fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories" similar to talk that preceded the "Unite the Right" march in August 2017, at which white nationalists clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove into a crowd.
"They are not coming to peacefully protest. They are coming to cause intimidation and to cause harm," Northam, a Democrat, said at a news conference.
The temporary weapons ban and the state of emergency will be lifted Tuesday, he said.
</snip>
It might be a bad weekend in Richmond...
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