RICHMOND, Va. -- A number of streets will be closed near the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on Lobby Day, according to Richmond officials.
The closures will be in place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20.
"Please plan accordingly," city officials posted on Twitter.
VDOT also warned drivers to "expect delays in and around downtown Richmond" Monday.
GRTC changes for Monday
Additionally, GRTC officials said a number of bus routes will be detoured for Lobby Day as "motor coaches perform drop-off and pick-up of thousands of people at the State Capitol."
Pulse (Eastbound): from Broad St., buses turn right on 5th St., left on Cary St., left on 14th St., right on Main St. and resume regular routing. The following stations are closed and not served: Government Center East and VCU Medical Center East.
Pulse (Westbound): from 14th St., buses turn left on Broad St. and serve VCU Medical Center West, then turn right on 11th St., left on Leigh St., right on 8th St., left on Jackson St., left on 5th St., right on Broad St. and resume regular routing. The Government Center West station is closed and not served.
- 1A/B/C (Southbound): from Broad St., buses turn right on 5th St., left on Cary St., right on 14th St. and resume regular routing.
- 1A/B/C (Northbound): from 14th St., buses turn left on Broad St., right on 11th St., left on Leigh St. and resume regular routing.
- 2A/B/C (Southbound): from Broad St., buses turn right on 5th St., left on Cary St., right on 8th St. and resume regular routing.
- 2A/B/C (Northbound): from Manchester Bridge (9th St.), buses turn left on Canal St., right on 7th St., left on Broad St. and resume regular routing.
- 5 (Eastbound): from Cary St., buses turn left on 7th St., right on Marshall St., left on 9th St., and serve Bay J at the Temporary Transfer Plaza.
- 5 (Westbound): from Leigh St., buses turn left on 3rd St., right on Main St. and resume regular routing.
- 7A/B (Westbound): from Broad St., buses turn right on 11th St., left on Marshall St., right on 9th St., and serve Bay I at the Temporary Transfer Plaza.
- 7A/B (Eastbound): from Bay I on 9th St. at the Temporary Transfer Plaza, buses turn left on Leigh St., left on 8th St., left on Marshall St., right on College St., left on Broad St. and resume regular routing.
- 12 (Westbound): from Leigh St., buses turn right on 8th St., left on Jackson St., left on 5th St., right on Broad St. and resume regular routing.
- 12 (Eastbound): regular routing; buses use Bay M on Leigh St. at the Temporary Transfer Plaza.
- 14 (Eastbound): from Cary St., buses turn left on 14th St., right on Main St. and resume regular routing.
- 14 (Westbound): from Main St., buses turn left on 14th St., right on Canal St., right on 4th St. and resume regular routing.
- 39 (End of Line): regular routing; buses use Bay L on Leigh St. at the Temporary Transfer Plaza.
Gun ban at Capitol Square
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary emergency ban on all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square Friday through Tuesday ahead of a massive rally over gun rights on Lobby Day.
"We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration planned for Monday," Northam said during a Wednesday news conference. "This includes extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017."
Northam said militia and hate groups, some from out of state, plan to come to Virginia's Capitol to "disrupt our democratic process with acts of violence."
Examples, according to Northam, include "threats of storming our Capitol," weaponizing drones over Capitol Square and individuals conducting surveillance operations on Capitol entrances and exits.
"Based on these threats, I am declaring a state of emergency in Richmond from Friday evening until Tuesday evening. This will include a ban on weapons of any kind in Capitol Square during that time," Northam said. “These are legitimate, real threats and we are taking them seriously.”
Northam stressed the ban was temporary and will end when the state of emergency ends.
"Organizers of the rally have been planning this for some time and I welcome them to their Capitol and I believe they intend this to be a peaceful rally," Northam added.
The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) released a statement in response to Northam’s temporary state of emergency.
"Governor Northam's declaration is a direct infringement on the right of the People to keep and bear arms," said RPV Chairman Jack Wilson. "The Republican Party of Virginia condemns any and all legislation that takes aim at the Second Amendment. Northam and the rest of the Virginia Democrats have made their session goal crystal clear: a disarmed, vulnerable, and subservient citizenry."
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Virginia on Friday in response to an appeal made to that court by plaintiffs seeking to overturn Northam’s firearms ban.
The brief asks the court to deny the appeal after the plaintiffs filed their initial lawsuit challenging the ban in the Richmond Circuit Court on Thursday, but were denied Judge Joi Taylor.
There is no timeline as to when the Supreme Court of Virginia may issue a ruling on the appeal.
Three members of a white supremacist group were arrested by the FBI early Thursday in Delaware and Maryland, according to the US Attorney’s Office of Maryland.
The three men were members of a neo-Nazi group known as The Base, which describes itself as an international network that is training its members to fight in a race war, according to the Counter Extremism Project.
The FBI believes men were planning to attend a gun rights rally at the state Capitol in Richmond on Monday.
