Security preparations on Capitol Hill underway ahead of right-wing rally supporting Jan. 6 riots

Capitol workers Thursday installed a security fence around the grounds of the complex Thursday as police and the National Guard prepared for a right-wing protest scheduled for Saturday in support of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the building on Jan. 6.

The tall fence, which was erected after Jan. 6 and removed over the summer, is intended to prevent protesters at the so-called “Justice for J6″ event from breaching the perimeter around the building where Congress meets.

The Capitol Police have also asked the military to deploy National Guard troops to beef up security.

Hundreds if not thousands of supporters of former President Trump are expected Saturday at the rally to protest the arrests and criminal charges filed against about 600 people suspected of breaking laws during the Jan. 6 attack.

Trump himself offered oblique praise for the rally.

Without mentioning the event or specifically calling on his supporters to attend, the ex-president

“Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest,” Trump wrote in an email message. “JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!”

Organizers claim that Jan. 6 protesters were wrongly arrested and some are being mistreated while behind bars awaiting trial. They are demanding the protesters, who face a variety of charges ranging from trespassing to conspiracy and assaulting cops, be freed immediately and have all charges against them dropped.

A Pentagon spokesman said the request for support from the Capitol Police has been approved. He did not say how many Guard troops would be on duty.

A spokesman for the Washington D.C. Metro Police also said the department would be prepared to assist also with “all hands on deck.”

Security officials are anxious to avoid any repeat of the shocking events of Jan. 6, when hordes of protesters, some of them armed, easily overwhelmed outnumbered police and stormed into the Capitol in an effort to block Congress from certifying President Biden’s election.

Preliminary reports suggest police and the military were guilty of widespread failures in communication and planning for the Jan. 6 event.

Experts in extremism say there appears to be much less chatter among far right-wing groups related to the Saturday rally.

No Republican elected officials are scheduled to attend the rally, which is being organized by a former Trump campaign official. Several lawmakers spoke at the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally, where Trump urged thousands of loyalists to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to keep him in power.