WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2021) Police pushed away from the Capitol building a group of anti-Trump protesters who demanded the expulsion of lawmakers allied to US President Donald Trump, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The incidents occurred amid ongoing impeachment proceedings in Congress on Wednesday. Trump is expected to be impeached today by the Democratic-controlled House for inciting riots on Capitol Hill last week.
The activists left after the police threatened to arrest them in three official warnings.
The protesters wanted to hang banners on the fence surrounding the capitol with the Names of 121 members of congress and 12 senators whom they accuse of supporting the outgoing president.
Extra layers of defense have been hastily erected around the US Capitol. In addition to the handguns, the police on the grounds are armed with shotguns and assault rifles.
More than 20,000 soldiers from the US National Guard will be on hand to help secure the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden next week.
The enhanced security comes a week after thousands of Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying Biden's victory, marking the most significant breach of the grounds since the British set fire to it in 1814.
On Monday, Trump declared a state of emergency in Washington ahead of Biden's inauguration planned for January 20, after the FBI warned that armed protests were being planned in all 50 US states.
At least five people died in connection with the riots that erupted on January 6 after thousands stormed the Capitol including some wielding weapons inside the halls of Congress. The assault came after Trump urged followers to keep fighting and not allow the election to be "stolen." Trump's allegations of vote fraud have been refuted by US election security and Justice Department officials
