Days after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, dozens of heavily armed people gathered outside the Kentucky Capitol building today to rail against socialism, communism, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Gov. Andy Beshear.
LHL: Several members of the Kentucky State Police looked on as members of the group, composed of people from self-described “militias,” made speeches interspersed with live performances of country songs.
Some in the crowd held flags or wore hats supporting Donald Trump.
One armed protester who carried zip ties visibly attached to his backpack told a photographer he brought them “just in case.”
The speakers took aim at Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden, warning against what they see as an incoming administration set on stripping away freedoms.
At one point, the group paused to take a moment of silence in honor of Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was shot and killed after illegally entering the U.S. Capitol.
They later took one lap around the Capitol building in her honor.
Beshear denounced the protesters on Twitter, saying he wouldn’t be bullied.
“Three days after domestic terrorists attacked our U.S. Capitol, there was a militia rally in Frankfort,” Beshear wrote. “They brought zip ties. We will not be intimidated. We will not be bullied. America is counting on the real patriots. Those who condemn hate and terror when they see it. “
This isn’t the first time heavily-armed people have walked the grounds of the Kentucky Capitol, where some of the most gun-friendly laws in the nation have been passed.
Last year, a group garnered national attention as they walked around inside the Capitol with long guns.
This spring, members of the “militia movement” protested Beshear’s COVID-19 restrictions and, at one point, hanged Beshear in effigy.
Guns are allowed on the Kentucky State Capitol grounds and in much of the Capitol building, but with COVID-19 safety precautions in-place, the building is closed to those without appointments.