FRANKFORT, Ky. — Governor Andy Beshear announced via an emailed press release and video Friday that Kentucky State Capitol grounds in Frankfort will be closed Sun., Jan. 17 due to the possibility of armed protests in all 50 states starting this weekend until inauguration.
“In order to protect all citizens, the Kentucky State Police [KSP] provides security at the state Capitol. KSP has not received any requests or notifications of a rally. However, precautions have been put in place to ensure the safety of both the public and state buildings, and will be adjusted as needed,” Acting Commissioner Lt. Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said in the Friday press release.
As of Saturday afternoon, the most visible display that the state Capitol grounds would be closed Sunday were two sets of yellow barricades placed to block some steps leading up to the Capitol building.
There was also yellow rope with signs attached that read “off limits” to block the backside of Kentucky’s Capitol building and the front of the Capitol Annex building.
“Our commitment is that what happened at the U.S. Capitol does not happen here,” Governor Andy Beshear said Friday in a pre-recorded video distributed with the press release announcing the Kentucky State Capitol ground’s Sunday closure.
Beshear also said there will be heightened security measures at the Kentucky State Capitol, which include the participation of Frankfort Police, Kentucky State Police, and the Kentucky National Guard.
Lauren Coltrane lives a few blocks away from the Capitol grounds. She won’t get her walk in around the Kentucky State Capitol Sunday since the area will be closed. Instead, she said she’ll stay home or possibly walk downtown.
However, she thinks it is the right call to have the grounds closed.
“Particularly when it’s not clear what’s going to happen, and there are concerns, and I think that the concerns are valid,” Coltrane said.
Beshear said areas near the Kentucky State Capitol will also be closed on Sunday. On Saturday, some signs were already posted along parts of nearby E. Todd Street stating there was no parking Sunday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The closest restaurant to the Kentucky State Capitol is Cliffside Diner, where it was business as usual Saturday. Owner Kevin Ritchie said he has spoken with Frankfort Police about Sunday.
“Right now they’ve said there’s really no direct threats or anything that they are aware of. They are just preparing to prevent anything bad from happening,” Ritchie said.
A Frankfort resident, Ritchie said he plans to be at the diner Sunday, given the uncertainty surrounding the day, which is a day he normally doesn’t come in.
“I mean anytime you get people with that much passion and a large crowd, I mean we saw what happened in Washington, so. I don’t expect that to happen here and don’t believe it will but, just in case, to be here to make the call quickly to get everybody out in case they were to need to,” Ritchie said.
Randy Smith and his wife have been dining at Cliffside Diner for over a decade. Just before their early lunch arrived Saturday, Smith said he wouldn’t be afraid to eat there on Sunday.
“I just think that some people did something but doesn’t mean that everybody’s gonna act the same way. I mean, people can protest, that’s a part of the U.S., and you do it peacefully, and we don’t have a problem with that,” Smith said.