U.S. Army National Guardsmen enter a newly restricted area outside of the Washington State Capitol building last week in Olympia.
The Washington state Capitol Campus in Olympia remained quiet over the weekend as the National Guard and Washington State Patrol continued a large and visible presence.
Both groups were called on to provide bolstered security after protesters breached the gates at the Governor's Mansion Jan. 6, hours after a group in Washington, D.C., breached the nation's Capitol. Since then, the protests have been small to non-existent, and that continued Sunday when a planned gathering called Washington Freedom Event did not to take place.
Still very evident, however, was the presence of the National Guard and security fencing that has been erected around key buildings on the west Capitol Campus.
All of it will remain in place through the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday. After that, officials will decide what level of draw down will be appropriate, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis, who checked the Capitol Campus on Sunday.
"We all want this to be peacefully resolved and we all want to go back to a more peaceful business as usual," he said.
Loftis said he wasn't aware of any specific threats directed at the state Capitol Campus.
"Just because you don't have a specific threat, doesn't mean you don't have the possibility of problems," he added.
Sunday's lack of activity offers hope that things will remain calm, Loftis said.
The Washington Freedom event's cancellation resulted in a one-man protest on Sid Snyder Avenue, just outside the security fencing. That's where Trump supporter John Hess of Centralia stood, wanting to call attention to what he believes was a stolen presidential election.
He was wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap and holding a "Stop the steal" sign that also included: "Joe Biden: traitor, liar, thief."
Accusations of a stolen presidential election have been widely disproved and multiple legal challenges were rejected.
Besides Hess, just a few tourists and dogwalkers were visible on campus Sunday.
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