FBI is on alert all week for 'actionable intelligence'

A day before President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were to be sworn into office in Washington, law enforcement officials in Massachusetts said they were not aware of any specific or substantiated threats of violence directed toward Beacon Hill.

“Rest assured, if there were any actionable intelligence to develop indicating a potential threat, it will be immediately disseminated to our law enforcement partners through our five Joint Terrorism Task Forces,” Kristen Setera, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigations Boston Division, said on Wednesday.

Boston police closed the streets around the State House and descended upon the Beacon Hill area on Sunday in a show of force following national reports of possible armed protests at state capitol buildings.

In Massachusetts, officials have covered some State House windows with plexiglass and erected metal fences in front of the steps. As for Inauguration Day on Wednesday, FBI Boston said they were maintaining a “heightened posture to monitor for any emerging threats to the region.”
“We are focused on identifying, investigating, and disrupting individuals who were involved in the siege of the Capitol, and those who may try to instigate violence and engage in criminal activity here locally,” Setera said in the statement. Spokespersons for Boston police and State Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


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