Updated 6 p.m.
Sunday was a mostly quiet day in Montpelier, and the armed protests that law enforcement officials did not materialize.
Police officers in riot gear patrolled the Statehouse grounds and set up a 20-foot boundary around the building, telling one reporter that anyone who crossed the cone-and-chain barrier would "be rushed." Aside from one man holding up a sign reading "Canadians for Trump," the only event of note was a small counter-protest outside Montpelier City Hall.
Burlington resident Paul Fleckenstein said he joined the counter-protest to register his concern about the rise of the far-right.
鈥淭he takeover of the [U.S.] Capitol shows that the far right is growing, and it will continue to grow until the conditions that are driving the growth of far right politics are addressed,鈥� Fleckenstein said.
According to a joint statement Sunday from Vermont State Police, Capitol Police and the Montpelier Police Department, law enforcement agencies established an 鈥渆nhanced presence鈥� at the Statehouse as a 鈥減recautionary response to potential disruptions or violence following the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, DC.鈥�
The statement said the heightened law enforcement presence was also in response to 鈥渃alls for nationwide action, including an 鈥榓rmed march,鈥� in all state capitals.鈥�
Law enforcement officials said they鈥檙e unaware of any specific threats to targets in Vermont.
But in a briefing to lawmakers on Thursday, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling said law enforcement agencies across the nation are on an alert level unseen since after 9/11.
Schirling said state and federal intelligence officials are paying especially close attention to 鈥渇ringe rightwing groups,鈥� such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Boogaloo Movement and QAnon. He said those groups 鈥渁re central to many of the threat streams that are circulating in the United States, and ones that exist here in Vermont.鈥�
At 5 p.m. Sunday, Captain David Petersen, special operations commander for the Vermont State Police, debriefed reporters on the day鈥檚 events.
鈥淧leased to report that there鈥檚 nothing to report, quite frankly,鈥� Petersen said.
He added that police had zero incidents reported to them Sunday, and law enforcement officers made no arrests and issued no citations.
Though Sunday came and went without incident, Petersen said the capital city will continue to see a heightened law enforcement presence in the coming days, until President-elect Joe Biden officially takes office.
鈥淲e鈥檝e stated before that we鈥檙e going to go ahead and continue this posture at least through the inauguration, and at this present time, there鈥檚 no plans to change that,鈥� he said.
Petersen wouldn鈥檛 disclose how many law enforcement personnel were on hand in Montpelier Sunday.
Correction 9 a.m. 1/18/2021: A previous version of this story misspelled Capt. David Petersen's last name.
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