Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Police prepare for possibility of protests at state Capitol this weekend

  • Justice
  • by Kelan Lyons
  • January 12, 2021
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Courtesy

Members of the State Police and Capitol Police discuss security preparations at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

With news that supporters of President Donald Trump are planning armed marches in state capitals across the country this weekend, Connecticut leaders are preparing for potential unrest here, wary of the riot in Washington, D.C., last week.

“I think that anyone in government who saw what happened last week has to stay alert and aware, and we know preparations are being made here to ensure that that happens,” said Max Reiss, Gov. Ned Lamont’s spokesperson. “It’s kind of inconclusive what’s going to happen this weekend, but preparations are underway.”

Lamont announced Tuesday that more than 100 members of the Connecticut National Guard will be sent to Washington, D.C., to ensure there is a peaceful transition of presidential power. In addition, the state’s Air Guard has placed on alert C-130H aircraft and crews, which are capable of shuttling personnel across the country.

“The State of Connecticut stands ready to help ensure the peaceful transition of power and protect our democracy,” Lamont said.

As for keeping Connecticut residents safe, Reiss said the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection is working with federal partners to review intelligence and stay head of potential threats, and that DESPP is also in talks with the State Capitol Police.

A picture shared on Twitter by Brian Foley, spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Services and Management, showed State and Capitol police gathered alongside DESPP, preparing for the weekend.

Confident in the preparation, coordination and safety of all. pic.twitter.com/0YhgmdHG5J

— Brian Foley (@LtFoley) January 12, 2021

“CT DESPP is constantly monitoring events and information. We are confident in our preparation. We are sharing information with our local, state and federal partners. While we are very focused on the safety of all, at this point, we can not get into specifics,” Foley said in a text message.

One prominent lawmaker was the subject of a death threat earlier in the week.

CT News Junkie reported that a man named Greg Tubby threatened Sen. Gary Winfield, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee who led the charge over the summer to pass a police accountability bill in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Tubby, a Columbia resident, according to News Junkie, mentioned taking “justice in our own hands. Hopefully the sanitation system will pick up the carcass.”

The man left the comment on a post from Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Southington, who faulted Winfield’s committee for not “reversing any of the dangerous public policy that has led to the massive crime wave affecting our community.”

The FBI released preliminary 2020 crime data in September. They found that violent crime decreased in the Northeast in the first six months of the year compared to 2019, but nonnegligent manslaughter and aggravated assault rose by nearly 15% and 5%, respectively.

Homicides rose in cities across the country, not just in Connecticut, where Winfield’s police accountability was signed into law over the summer.

“Senator Sampson said that the recently enacted police accountability bill and other criminal justice legislation ‘undermined the rule of law’ and led to a ‘crime wave,'” Democratic Senate leaders Martin Looney and Bob Duff said in a press release. “This is the kind of incendiary, alarmist, reckless fear mongering that leads to what we saw at the U.S. Capitol last week.”

Winfield, a lawmaker for a dozen years who has worked on controversial issues including ending the death penalty, protecting members of LGBTQ communities and several police accountability measures, said he was no stranger to threats of violence. His work has focused heavily on issues of race, equity and criminal justice, all difficult issues that inspire a lot of passion in residents.

“People expect you to be more deferential than I am. And to be Black on top of it, you don’t see that all the time,” Winfield said. “I’ve had death threats, I’ve been run off the road, I’ve been physically confronted, I’ve had a stalker.”

Winfield said he had been offered a security detail. He is still mulling over whether to accept. He is trying to walk the line between being desensitized to threats of violence and understanding that “the world is changing.

I know sometimes we can poo-poo these things, but I’m trying not to do that,” he said. “I’m also trying not to overreact.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelan Lyons Kelan Lyons is a Report For America Corps Member who covers the intersection of mental health and criminal justice for CT Mirror. Before joining CT Mirror, Kelan was a staff writer for City Weekly, an alt weekly in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a courts reporter for The Bryan-College Station Eagle, in Texas. He is originally from Philadelphia.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Trump’s pardons included health care execs behind massive fraud
by Fred Schulte | Kaiser Health News

At the last minute, President Donald Trump granted pardons to several individuals convicted in huge Medicare swindles that prosecutors alleged often harmed or endangered elderly and infirm patients while fleecing taxpayers. “These aren’t just technical financial crimes. These were major, major crimes,” said Louis Saccoccio, chief executive officer of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, […]

Police task force seeks wider applicant pool for watchdog role
by Kelan Lyons

The task force sent four recommendations — and two that didn't get unanimous approval— to lawmakers for the 2021 session.

Advocates call for closure of Northern Correctional, reinvestment in community supports
by Kelan Lyons

The coalition says the $19 million spent annually to run the prison can help provide housing services and employment.

After killing his cousin, Clyde Meikle found purpose in prison through service. Now he’s asking to go home.
by Kelan Lyons

Clyde Meikle is a "poster boy candidate" for release from prison. If he can't get a sentence modification, who can?

Judge approves shorter sentence for convicted murderer turned prison mentor
by Kelan Lyons

The DOC could start screening Clyde Meikle in July for discharge to a halfway house.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO