Six days before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated amid political tensions, the FBI announced there is no credible threat to Nevada's Capitol in Carson City.
Thursday's announcement comes a week after supporters of President Donald Trump, who allege the election was stolen, rioted at the U.S. Capitol, in disturbances that left five dead, including a federal police officer.
Authorities continue to monitor reports about potential armed protests in Washington while Biden takes the presidential oath and at the 50 state capitols over the weekend.
Some Capitol protests set for Sunday, the details of which were publicized online, haven’t been linked to an official movement. Some prominent Trump supporters have taken to social media to urge people not to attend, calling them a trap.
But FBI Director Chris Wray said Thursday that the agency is tracking an “extensive amount of concerning online chatter.”
Federal officials have warned local law enforcement agencies that the riot at the Capitol is likely to inspire others with violent intentions.
“We’re looking at individuals who may have an eye towards repeating that same kind of violence that we saw last week,” Wray said.
“At this point we have not received any specific and substantiated threat to the Nevada state Capitol,” the FBI Las Vegas said in a news release. “As we do in the normal course of business, we are gathering information to identify any potential threats and are immediately sharing that information with our partners.”
Anyone with tips can contact the federal agency at 702-385-1281 and tips.fbi.gov.
“The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Our focus is not on peaceful protesters, but on those threatening their safety and the safety of other citizens with violence and destruction of property,” the release said.
Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday said his office had instructed the Nevada National Guard to “assemble a quick response unit within the state to support interagency law enforcement efforts, as necessary.”
Furthermore, Sisolak said he tasked the Department of Public Safety to coordinate with other agencies.
“DPS is confident that it has an effective operational plan in place in case the demonstrations threaten property or persons,” he said.
Speaking to KVVU Channel 5 Thursday morning, Metro Police Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh said the department is ready if protests prop up in Clark County, noting that the racial justice demonstrations earlier this year — some which turned unruly — helped the department better prepare for future incidents.
If protests occur here, Metro will keep an eye out on symbolic locations to “make sure those places don’t become flashpoints (of) protests,” Walsh said.
“We’ve seen the warnings, we’re working in conjunction with the FBI,” he told the TV station, touting the communication between partner law enforcement agencies, local and federal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.