Expand / Collapse search
☰

Florida lawmakers respond after FBI warns of armed protests in all 50 state capitals

By
Updated  January 12, 2021 9:23am EST
Politics
FOX 35 Orlando

FBI warns of armed protests

The FBI is warning of armed protests planned at all 50 state capitals in the coming days. We spoke to some Florida lawmakers to get their reaction on how the state is and should be preparing.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - State capitols across the nation are on high alert after Wednesday’s chaos in D.C.

The FBI now reporting "armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from January 16 to January 20."

Florida lawmakers are in Tallahassee this week, and agree that what happened in Washington was unAmerican. They disagree, though, about if protests will happen on January 20th in the Sunshine state.

Republican State Rep. Scott Plakon said that he does not think protests will take place at the Florida capitol next week. He went on to say that if they do, the capitol police will handle it.

"Here in Florida, our election was a slam dunk for the President. so I'm really not expecting that here," said Plakon. "I'm sure that there's conversations going on with our Capitol Police and the Governor's Office."

Democratic State Rep. Anna Eskamani tweeted at Gov. Ron Desantis Monday, asking him what steps would be taken to ensure safety.

"I wanna make sure that there's understanding that our capitol can be just as vulnerable as the U.S. capitol. And people's lives could be at risk," said Eskamani.

Due to scheduling, the majority of Florida lawmakers will not be in Tallahassee come Jan. 20.

"Even if lawmakers are not in this building a lot of people are. And I want to make sure safety concerns are put into place. I think one of the reasons we saw what happened in Washington D.C. is because law enforcement did not take this threat seriously."