ATLANTA — State officials and law enforcement are preparing for potential unrest at the Georgia capitol.  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned state law enforcement agencies of the possibility of coordinated armed protests at capitol buildings in all 50 states leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Georgia has been center stage for President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of a fraudulent election despite state officials repeatedly saying there was no indication of widespread irregularities in the state’s general election.

Beefed-up security greets visitors to the Georgia Statehouse while extreme partisanship has already been a part of the first days of the session.

Law enforcement preps to protect Capitol

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp said the state is “fully prepared” for any potential violence at the Georgia State Capitol in response to the election outcome. Georgia State Patrol, Georgia National Guard and Georgia Bureau of Investigation are coordinating security.

“As you know, we welcome peaceful protests, as we did last summer and that we want to ensure any peaceful demonstrators is able to exercise their First Amendment rights as much as they would like in a safe manner,” the Republican governor said. “But let me be clear: law breaking like we saw last week will not be tolerated here. Period.”

Kemp refused to disclose security specifics but noted the threat level is likely lower than other states are expecting.

“I think our threat level that we are seeing and hearing, in regards to the Georgia State Capitol, seems to be very low at this point in time. But we are taking nothing for granted,” he said. “I think you can see what happens when you do that, looking back to last week.”

Along with Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston, Kemp condemned the violent riots in Washington, D.C., and has criticized President Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in Georgia.

Col. Chris Wright, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said the department is “continuously monitoring” the situation as the first week of legislative session comes to an end.

“We’re well postured and well prepared to handle anything that might come in our direction that we may have to deal with,” he said. “We just need to make certain that everyone understands that we certainly respect everyone’s First Amendment right to peacefully protest as per se, but we will not tolerate unlawful or violent behavior in this day.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is monitoring possible threats, a GBI spokesperson said.

Kemp has renewed an executive order authorizing him to deploy the Georgia Guard if necessary.

‘Lies have consequences’

Some state lawmakers have already felt repercussions for peddling Trump’s false allegations about election fraud.

Republican Sens. Burt Jones of Jackson and Brandon Beach of Alpharetta, who were among those perpetuating Trump’s false claims, were stripped of previous committee chairmanships — Jones is no longer the chair of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee and Beach has been removed from his post as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee from last session.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s office announced the chairman changes following a passionate floor speech from Atlanta Democrat Sen. Jen Jordan. She slammed members who enthusiastically took part in committee hearings after the election which only fanned false claims.

Jordan received death threats along with another Democratic senator for challenging the allegations made during the hearings.

“Members of this body aided and abetted the spread of information,” she said. “They gave oxygen to a lie.”

Senate Democrats filed a resolution that condemns violent riots at the U.S. Capitol and criticizes Republican state senators for “delegitimizing the Senate and giving credibility to these conspiracy theories” by holding the hearings at the Capitol that gave a platform to Trump allies. 

Duncan has emerged as another Republican voice who has criticized Trump’s handling of the election outcome. After the violent raid of the U.S. Capitol, he slammed the president for acting as if he is “more important than democracy.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are prepping for a battle over election reform legislation while threats of violent protests have been made for outside the Capitol.

During the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Eggs and Issues event Wednesday, House Speaker David Ralston was the only state leader to address the coming partisan conflict but has already warned House members there will be no “looking back” on the last election.

“Many Georgians are concerned about the integrity of our election system. Some of those concerns may or may not be well-founded but there may be others that are,” he said. “So what we’re trying to do is go through perceived problems in a very thoughtful and responsible way.”

Some Republicans have already pushed the idea of limiting absentee ballot voting. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he will support doing away with no-excuse absentee ballot use. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp said he would support photo ID requirements for mail-in ballots.

Newly elected House Minority Leader Rep. James Beverly from Macon said he would caution Republican lawmakers to “take a step back” and consider the “chilling effect” any changes would have on Georgia voters after historic turnout in both the November general election and January runoffs.

Some Georgia voters are concerned about the prospect of restricting absentee ballot voting especially as the pandemic continues to spread throughout the state.

Douglas County residents Ken Cody and son Aaron Cody stood outside of the Georgia State Capitol Tuesday, protesting any restrictions the Republican-held legislature may propose.

On just the second day of session, they said they want to do their part “to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.”

“We hope that the Georgia legislature does not restrict voting,” Ken Cody told CNHI. “This last election was probably the best used by Georgia citizens and (lawmakers) think that that’s a problem? You should be trying to get more people to vote, not restrict them.”