Lansing Mayor Calls For National Guard Protection Ahead Of Capitol Protests

(CBS DETROIT) – Law enforcement is keeping a watchful eye on the Michigan Capitol.

The grounds is the site for an armed march Sunday as protesters throughout the country plan to rally at state capitols ahead of Inauguration Day.

Marches are expected in all 50 states.

A flyer promoting the protests was shared online and caught the attention of the FBI.

The Federal Agency sent a warning advising local and state police to prepare for potential violence leading up to Inauguration Day.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor says the capital city is often a target for protests and city officials are ramping-up security measures and getting prepared.

"There's always a concern about tensions. You know, you want to be optimistic, but you have to prepare for the worst," said Schor.

On Tuesday, Mayor Schor sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, requesting National Guard protection for Sunday and Inauguration Day for additional security and to control crowd measures.

"People who want to protest certainly have that right, but we want to make sure that everyone is staying safe so we would encourage that you know, that folks who are not here for the protest are staying away from that in order to reduce tensions," said Schor.

Michigan State Police released a statement to CW50/CBS Detroit saying they are monitoring security threats at the Michigan Capitol.

The statement reads in part:

"We are aware of online promotion of upcoming marches on state capitols. Security enhancements that can be put in place include both seen and unseen measures. In general, we don't discuss security measures, but I can confirm that out of an abundance of caution, we have increased our visible presence at the Capitol for at least the next couple of weeks."