A gun-rights rally drew an estimated 22,000 people to Richmond on Monday for Virginia’s annual Lobby Day. Here are some scenes of the event.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A photo in this gallery includes language some may consider graphic.
GALLERY: Gun-rights rally outside Va.’s Capitol
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Protesters at the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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One of many ‘Come and Take It’ banners at the rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A scene from the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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The first confirmed arrest (and the only one I’m aware of) — a 21-year-old Richmond woman charged with one felony count of wearing a mask in public.
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
I actually saw her being detained outside the library. She was chanting something. Nobody around me could say what happened. pic.twitter.com/QVUvNt34Nq
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A scene from the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A protester at the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A scene from the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A view of the crowd at the gun-right rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A view of the crowd at the gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A gun-rights protester at the rally in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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Gun-rights protesters converge on the Virginia State House on Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
A man walks in the crowd during a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Thousands of pro-gun supporters are expected at the rally to oppose gun control legislation like universal background checks that are being pushed by the newly elected Democratic legislature.
A man walks in the crowd during a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Thousands of pro-gun supporters are expected at the rally to oppose gun control legislation like universal background checks that are being pushed by the newly elected Democratic legislature.
Demonstrators stand outside a security zone before a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
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This altered flag was one of many Texas flags at the gun-rights protest in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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A scene from the gun-rights protest in Richmond, Virginia, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
(WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez)
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The streets are opening back up and I think it’s safe to say this Richmond rally is over. More police and media than attendees at this point. That’s my cue to call it a day and finally get some place warm. So long for now!#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/v6pcO9JUTa
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
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Culpeper County, Virginia, Sheriff Scott Jenkins speaks during a gun rights rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. Jenkins has promised to deputize thousands of his county’s gun owners if Democrats pass more restrictive gun laws. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave addresses a rally he organized on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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York County, Virginia, Sheriff Danny Diggs speaks during a gun rights rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Signs comparing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to Adolph Hitler were carried by some of the thousands of gun rights advocates that attended a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League near the State Capitol building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Assembly delegates stand on the steps of the Virginia State Capital to show their support for thousands of gun rights advocates that gathered there for a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
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The main event went on for about an hour and at this rate I’ll spend twice as long waiting to get out. Security ended up cramming everyone through the one exit. It’s a human traffic jam.
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
But calm. Nothing remotely near tense for most of the morning.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/pvQVBjtnLu
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Anti-white supremacy protesters hold banners as they shout anti-Trump slogans at the end of a rally by gun supporters outside the Virginia State Capitol grounds in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020. – Several thousand gun rights supporters massed near the Virginia state capitol Monday for a rally under heavy surveillance and a state of emergency declared by authorities fearing violence by far-right groups. Dressed in hunting jackets and caps, rally-goers were checked for weapons as they passed through tight security before entering a fenced off area of Richmond’s Capitol Square for the so-called “Lobby Day” event.
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
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Somebody parked a guillotine on Franklin and 9th. Says “the penalty for treason is death” at the top. Doesn’t look like it actually works, for what it’s worth.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/PqRw3UF0aj
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
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Next speaker jokes she looked up tyrant in the dictionary and saw a picture of Northam.
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
By the way, that IS a dude in a banana costume. See his sign at the end. It’s a NSFW diss on Bloomberg, second to Northam as the name I’ve seen most villanized here.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/faHXcatktT
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Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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A flyer left in the Pocahontas Building at the Virginia State Capitol.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building on January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other far-right groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Zach Gibson)
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Gun rights advocates chant during a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building on January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other far-right groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Zach Gibson)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building on January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a ‘red flag’ law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other far-right groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights.
(Getty Images/Zach Gibson)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
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One of the signs referring to Va. Gov. Ralph Northam at the gun-rights rally in Richmond Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
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One of the signs at the gun-rights rally at the Virginia Capitol Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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The rally has started. It’s hard to get a good look. One of the first speakers is Dick Heller (of DC v. Heller fame) who claims Virginia is one of the safest states in the country so it doesn’t need gun laws, which he thinks are an excuse for “confiscation.”#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/QFcsl5Uecc
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
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The pro-gun rally begins in front of the Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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If there’s any rallying going on right now, it’s happening outside the gun-free zone. Crowd out there is a lot more animated. So far they’ve gone through both the national anthem and pledge of allegiance twice. They booed Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/2PwBDAo2tl
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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The narrow road between the federal courthouse and state offices is alive with dozens of Gadsden flags and Trump 2020 banners. They’re cycling through chants of “we will not comply” and “Northam has got to go.”#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/DJZelktFA6
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Sidewalks were overcrowding so it’s a relief the streets outside the statehouse just closed to traffic. I’m standing near a group of rallygoers in hunting camo who’ve stopped to appreciate a gigantic banner of a rifle with the words “come and take it.”#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/VLZ6ctumJn
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Police at the checkpoint are predictably being very thorough: The line I’m in got held up while they were determining if a flask is contraband (the verdict: it isn’t - provided you pour out the booze). Another journalist here had to abandon his tripod.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/73PHeKQKye
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Two signs I noticed weaving through the growing crowd here: A placard of the infamous yearbook photo and another likening Northam to Hitler.#Richmond2ARally pic.twitter.com/cV1GYmrQgX
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
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A protester speaks to a crowd in front of the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020. – Thousands of gun rights supporters descended for a rally in the grounds of the State Capitol under heavy surveillance after authorities were forced to declare a state of emergency for fear of violence by far-right groups.
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
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A protester holds a sign in front of the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020. – Thousands of gun rights supporters descended for a rally in the grounds of the State Capitol under heavy surveillance after authorities were forced to declare a state of emergency for fear of violence by far-right groups.
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)
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Starting my #Richmond2ARally thread with a look around the checkpoint on North 9th Street. Big RV covered with Trump banners rounding the corner at the state capitol as I got here. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/ouICbOkzpW
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 20, 2020
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Demonstrators stand on the capitol grounds ahead of a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
(AP/Steve Helber)
A demonstrator stands on the sidewalk before a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. There was a light crowd early morning Monday outside the Capitol ahead of the rally.
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A scene from the gun-rights rally outside the Virginia Capitol Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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A scene from the gun-rights rally outside the Virginia Capitol Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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A scene from the gun-rights rally outside the Virginia Capitol Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Kem Regik, of Virginia, stands on the sidewalk before a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. There was a light crowd early morning Monday outside the Capitol ahead of the rally.
(AP/Julio Cortez)
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Virginia State police troopers stand near a security checkpoint before demonstrators enter the capitol grounds ahead of a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
(AP/Steve Helber)
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Demonstrators stand outside a security zone before a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
(AP/Julio Cortez)
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Demonstrators stand outside a security zone before a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.
(AP/Julio Cortez)
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Pro-gun demonstrators gather near the Virginia Capitol in the early hours of Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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Pro-gun demonstrators gather at the Virginia Capitol in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
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A gun-rights protester in front of the Virginia Capitol Jan. 20, 2020.
(WTOP/Max Smith)
