Security high at U.S. Capitol ahead of far-right rally

Demonstration to be held in support of January 6th rioters - NBC's Alice Barr reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News/KYMA, KECY) - The U.S. Capitol on Friday had the appearance of a well-guarded fortress. A seven foot-tall steel fence now encircles the grounds. A heavy police presence and new security cameras are scattered all over the property.

"We're not taking any chances," said U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.

It's all in preparation for Saturday's rally in support of those arrested during the January 6th Capitol siege. Capitol police are determined to prevent a repeat of anything close to that deadly day, and eager to demonstrate changes they've made to better response, and to identify threats.

"We have dramatically changed the way that we process and share intelligence," said Asst. Chief Yogananda Pittman.

Investigators say there have been some threats of violence.

"We would be foolish not to take seriously the intelligence we have," said Chief Manger.

The event organizer is a former Trump campaign aide. He insists it will be 100% peaceful. He expects around 700 people to rally for those charged on January 6th, people he claims were not violent.

"We are prepared to have a peaceful exercise of our First Amendment rights," said Matt Braynard.

Still, every Capitol and D.C. police officer will be on duty. The National Guard will be on stand-by. Members of Congress are urged to stay away.

Security officials hope they are over-prepared for a peaceful event, instead of over-run by the kind of violence that forever changed security in the nation's capitol. They say attendance may be lower than anticipated because of false conspiracy theories circulating among far-right groups. Those theories say the demonstration is actually some sort of trap designed to arrest even more people.

Police are very clear, they are here to protect First Amendment rights. If all goes well, the fencing will come down shortly after Saturday's event.