The FBI put out a bulletin after the violence that occurred on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol, warning of possible armed protests at every state capitol across the country leading up to Joe Biden’s inauguration as president.
Here in New York, there were also concerns about possible demonstrations, but it remained mostly peaceful throughout the weekend leading into Wednesday.
The New York State Capitol was on high alert, with New York State Police and National Guard service members swarming every inch.
But only one lone Donald Trump supporter made it out on Wednesday with his flag.
Mark Leggiero is the one lone Trump supporter out in front of the NYS Capitol. He says he expected a few thousand ppl here and is disappointed. He said he drove 45 minutes for a peaceful protest pic.twitter.com/hDtCLYFpLq
— Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) January 20, 2021
Mark Leggiero said he drove 45 minutes to Albany and was surprised to find that he was the only one here.
"I couldn’t make it down to D.C., I’m sure everyone is down in D.C. now," Leggiero explained. "I’m not sure, but I was hoping to find a few thousand people down here doing a peaceful protest to try and get our voices heard. And here I am by myself."
Leggiero insisted that he was here for a peaceful protest. However, he repeated false voter fraud claims despite the fact that not a single election fraud claim ever gained traction in any court across the country.
"I don’t know if all the evidence that I’ve seen and all the conspiracy evidence I’ve seen on YouTube videos and proof from scientists that I follow, guys with PHDs, I don’t know if all their information is wrong or is just a blatant lie," Leggiero explained. "Or if President Trump would have blatantly lied to us the past two months about all this information."
Armed State Police Troopers continued to line every staircase inside the State Capitol and some were even posted on the roof.
A few dozen National Guard service members were also called in and positioned in front of every entrance.
Governor Andrew Cuomo stayed in Albany in case there were violent demonstrations, missing out on President Biden’s inauguration. He referenced the picture of the single Trump supporter during his press conference Wednesday.
Governor Cuomo showed my picture of the sole Trump supporter at the NYS Capitol:
— Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) January 20, 2021
"There was reportedly one protester. The protest didn't materialize in New York. I could have gone to the inaugural in retrospect."
"Better safe then sorry."
"We all watched what happened in Washington, so I didn’t want to take any chances," Cuomo explained. "As it turns out, the demonstration in New York was, I think it is fair to say was less robust than anticipated."
There has been no mention when the added barriers and fencing around the State Capitol will be removed.