"Fearing a repeat of the deadly march by white nationalists in Charlottesville in 2017, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned people from carrying guns and other weapons on the grounds of the state Capitol, where thousands of gun-rights activists are expected to rally next week against stricter gun-control laws.

"Northam said he made the call after hearing “credible intelligence” from law enforcement that armed militias and hate groups, some from outside Virginia, planned to disrupt the event. The threats of violence, picked up by state intelligence analysts on the internet and on dark web channels, included “conversations fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories,” he said, and rhetoric similar to talk that preceded the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville in August 2017, at which white nationalists clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove into a crowd.

“They are not coming to peacefully protest. They are coming to cause intimidation and to cause harm,” Northam, a Democrat, said at a news conference.

Photos:

1. White supremacist rally turned deadly, Charlottesville, Virginia rally. March 2017.

2 & 3. March for our Lives, March 2018.

4. Women's March, January 2019.

[nbcnews.com]