BOSTON (WHDH) - Federal and local authorities assured the public Tuesday that there are no specific threats to Massachusetts after the FBI warned of possible unrest at all 50 state capitols.
After supporters of President Trump invaded the Capitol last week, a leaked FBI bulletin indicated armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitals and at the U.S. Capitol between Saturday and next week’s inauguration. However, Gov. Charlie Baker said there is no specific threat to the area.
“I can tell you at this point in time we are not aware of any specific threat that involves anything here in Massachusetts,” he said.
FBI Boston Special Agent In Charge Joe Bonavolonta reiterated the fact at a separate press conference, adding, “I would like all of you to know and the public to know that we are fully in sync with our federal, state, and local partners.”
Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross met with top federal enforcement partners at the FBI headquarters in Boston and said that the police department is working closely with them to keep the city safe on Inauguration Day.
“We’re not going to accept the ignorance of destructive violence,” he said. “We’re very cognizant of what happened in D.C. at the Capitol. Again, we’re going to rely on our state, local, and federal partnership as well as the members of our City of Boston and our Commonwealth to keep us in the know.”
Across the country, police are on high alert. Crews have boarded up windows at state capitol buildings in Wisconsin and Colorado.
As federal and local authorities continue to monitor this situation, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling says he’s investigating people in the area who may have taken part in last week’s violence.
“We have a flood of incoming information for which I’ve assigned a coordinator to sift through it,” he explained. “We have several active leads but whether any of them turn into chargeable cases is too soon to tell.”
The FBI has opened more than 160 case files since the Capitol riots that left five dead.
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