Virginia

Northam Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Gun Rally

Northam says some of the rhetoric used by groups planning to attend the rally is similar to what was said in the lead-up to a deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (File photo)
AP Photo/Steve Helber, File

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he is declaring a state of emergency over threats from militia groups ahead of a gun-rights rally next week.

Northam's emergency order will ban weapons of all kinds, including firearms, from the Capitol grounds starting Friday because of potential violence during a gun-rights rally scheduled for Monday.

Northam says some of the rhetoric used by groups planning to attend the rally is similar to what was said in the lead-up to a deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.

Democrats in the statehouse are advancing a number of gun-control bills that gun-rights advocates are fiercely opposing.

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