FRANKFORT, Ky. — A visible police presence higlighted an otherwise quiet work day outside Kentucky's Capitol building Thursday.
Kentucky State Troopers parked marked cruisers at intervals surrounding the entire grounds and remained for nearly all business hours, as both the House and Senate met for the third day of the new session.
Willie Hensley was out for his daily walk in his hometown of 50 years. He stopped to look at three cruisers parked in front of the flowing stairway leading to the historic building's front door.
His mind was still focused on the events of the day before at the nation's capitol, and he told Spectrum News he was glad to see a visible show of security.
"You can’t wait til somebody overrides you and then say, 'Well, I shoulda done this or I shoulda done that.' That’s too late," he said. "That’s what happened yesterday. They just didn’t get things in order."
Wednesday afternoon in Washington, a crowd of thousands attended a rally, encouraged and hosted by President Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump told his gathered supporters to march to the Capitol, where Congress was debating the electoral college results, and said, "You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
Following those instructions from their leader, the crowd walked to the Capitol and became a mob; breaking windows, forcing open doors, and breaching the chambers of Congress, attempting to reverse the results of November's presidential election which were about to be finalized.
It was the first such intrusion by a hostile force since 1814, during the War of 1812.
One woman was shot and killed by Capitol police in the siege. Three more died from what law enforcement described as medical emergencies.
Back in Thursday's Frankfort, Hensley said he feels safe living near and walking the Capitol grounds in Frankfort each day.
"I think the security is very adequate here for Franklin and Franklin County," he said, before continuing his exercise.
As the commonwealth's usual capitol security force, Kentucky troopers have been on high alert in recent memory.
In May, claiming his COVID-19 restrictions were too strict, heavily armed protesters hanged Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in effigy outside the Capitol.
They then walked the short distance to the governor's mansion, knocked on the doors and windows, and challenged Beshear to come outside. Since that encounter, an iron fence has been erected around the property.
Kentucky lawmakers from both major parties condemned the actions of Wednesday's attempted coup d'état in Washington, D.C.