FBI warns of armed protests targeting state courthouses and D.C.
The FBI is warning law enforcement across the country that groups are calling for the "storming" of federal, state and local courthouses in all 50 states if President Trump is removed from office prior to Inauguration Day on January 20, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
The groups are calling for participants to come armed at their own discretion, according to the FBI's alert, which also said that there are reports of non-specified threats being made against President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
The alert comes as law enforcement across the country scrambles to assess whether a violent incursion into the Capitol building by supporters of Mr. Trump on January 6 could lead to further violence before Mr. Biden's inauguration. The attack on the Capitol left five dead, including a police officer. Another Capitol police officer committed suicide on Saturday.
The possibility of violence on January 17, in particular, had already caught the attention of Twitter. The social media giant cited "a proposed secondary attack" on the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings on that day in its January 8 announcement that it was permanently suspending Mr. Trump's account.
One flyer that briefly appeared on various social media sites called for an armed march from the "Washington Memorial to the White House (and all 50 state capitols)."
"Come armed at your personal discretion," the flyer read.
The National Park Service announced Monday that it is closing the Washington Monument through January 24 in response to "credible threats" stemming from the deadly riot at the Capitol.
"Groups involved in the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol continue to threaten to disrupt the 59th presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021," the National Park Service said in a statement.
The agency may also institute temporary closures to many National Mall public facilities and roadways, it said.
As part of the government's effort to respond to the January 6 attack, the Transportation Security Administration is also detailing additional federal Air Marshals to flights into and out of the Capitol region, a source tells CBS News.
Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.