James ready for legal action against insurrectionists, domestic terrorists

New York State Attorney General, Letitia James.
New York State Attorney General, Letitia James.
Associated Press / Richard Drew/File

New York Attorney General, Letitia James said on Wednesday that she was ready to take legal action in response to reports that insurrectionists and domestic terrorists are considering riots at the New York state Capitol in Albany and at state Capitols across the nation between now and next Wednesday, Jan. 20, when Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in as the president and vice president, respectively, of the United States.

“After last week’s deadly attack at the US Capitol, my office is closely monitoring all threats against our state Capitol in Albany,” James told Caribbean Life. “While I am working with law enforcement on the ground to ensure the chaos that we saw in Washington, D.C. does not take place right here in New York, we will not hesitate to take legal action against anyone who seeks to terrorize or harm legislators, Capitol staff, law enforcement, or members of the public.

“Our system of government may not be perfect, but it works, and we will not allow those fueled by lies and unhinged conspiracy theories to run wild as they violently seek to overthrow the government through sedition and insurrection,” she added.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, our duly elected president and vice president, will assume office on Jan. 20, and history will remember all who sought to destroy our democratic republic,” James continued.

On Wednesday, the FBI urged police chiefs across the country to be on high alert for extremist activity and to share intelligence on any threats they encounter, as the US government issued a dire intelligence bulletin warning of potential violence ahead of the inauguration, according to the New York Times.

In the call with police chiefs, the Times reported that Christopher Wray, the FBI. director, and Kenneth Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, warned about potential attacks on state capitols, federal buildings, the homes of congressional members and businesses.

“They don’t want to be dismissive of anything,” Chief Jorge Colina of the Miami Police Department, one of thousands of officials participating in the call, told the Times. “So, even if it sounds aspirational, even if it’s just like, ‘Yeah, it’d be great if the whole place is burned down,’ they don’t want us to think, ‘Ah, that’s just some knucklehead, pinhead,’ and be dismissive.”

According to the Times, federal authorities also issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning that the deadly breach at the Capitol last week would be a “significant driver of violence” for armed militia groups and racist extremists who are targeting the presidential inauguration next Wednesday.

The National Counterterrorism Center and the Justice and Homeland Security Departments warned in the bulletin that extremist groups, aiming to trigger a race war “may exploit the aftermath of the Capitol breach by conducting attacks to destabilize and force a climactic conflict in the United States,” the Times said.

It said Defense Department officials pointed out that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy had decided to arm National Guard members who will be deployed to protect the Capitol building complex as Biden and Harris are sworn into office.