Carson City sheriff: Mechanisms in place to investigate threats, thwart violence
Noting that demonstrations in the capital city have remained, for the most part, peaceful since March, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said public safety remains the first and foremost priority as emotions over the presidential election continue to run high.
An internal FBI bulletin obtained by ABC News stated that armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitals in addition to the US Capitol.
"As of 10 January, armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January," the bulletin said.
The sheriff said demonstrations in Carson City have "largely been cooperative and peaceful" with a handful of incidents considered low level. One arrest happened following an accidental discharge of a firearm at an August 29 Black Lives Matter demonstration.
When the mob attack happened Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the demonstrators in Carson City were peaceful, with two arrests for public urination.
But that's not to say there haven't been threats, which are continuously being investigated, including one involving a threat against District Court Judge James Russell following a Dec. 4 ruling that rejected a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's campaign, which sought to block Nevada's presidential election results.
There is an active investigation regarding the threat to the judge, confirmed Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury. He declined to comment further on the matter as it is an active investigation. Sheriff Furlong declined to comment on the investigation.
Furlong notes that mechanisms are in place to investigate and assess all threats, and that the sheriff's office does use those mechanisms regularly, but the sheriff said that he wouldn't comment on any active investigation.
"I recognize that for what people are seeing and hearing, for many that this is uncomfortable. But rest assured in every case we have people who are tending to the challenges and are on top of it," said Furlong.
With emotions running high, Furlong said residents should be reassured the sheriff's office is "engaged with all of our partner agencies as we have with every demonstration since March to ensure and address any challenges that might occur. We want to also make sure our posturing is not the cause of the problem. We've embedded with all of our plans, de-escalation, which includes ourselves," he said.
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