capital area is safe. host: what should we keep our eyes on in wisconsin? guest: hopefully nothing happens here. [laughter] i think the state leaders -- they have been talking about this for days. there will be a national guard presence. we have not heard of any actual demonstrations planned. hopefully it will be quiet here. host: keep us informed. we would like to thank capital reporter molly beck of the milwaukee journey -- milwaukee journal sentinel on keeping us informed.enential for political unrest and violence in their state capitols. let's move to michigan and talk to carol thompson, the state watchdog reporter for the lansing state journal. good morning. guest: good morning, jesse. thanks for having me.

host: so, how concerned are state leaders in michigan about the potential for political unrest at the state capitol this weekend? guest: they are taking these warnings from the fbi and others in very seriously. i haven't heard anything specific about credible threats here, but there is plenty of activity in michigan. we are no stranger to a big the most rations, and sometimes pretty chaotic ones. if you are to to her downtown lansing right now you would see boarded-up windows. you walk into a business or a church, you would find that people are on edge, anticipating what the next few days are going to look like. host: your paper is talking about the -- going up around the capitol. tell us about the fence? guest: it was put up yesterday, a six foot tall chain-link fence

but with essentially block people from getting into the building. there is already construction and basically two-and-a-half sides of it and there has been for years, so that access is blocked off. the front is generally open to people. you can walk into the building and walk right in, but now, there is a fence that will cut through the grounds and serve as a barrier that should make it pretty clear that it is in line that should not be crossed. host: do we know that this fence is temporary or permanent? guest: i would assume that it is temporary but we do not know how long it will be up. the capital facilities. folks said they will leave it up -- capitol facilities folks said they will leave it up. we don't know how indication how long that will be. it could be a while. host: you have had a couple of

incidents in michigan already, including. i guess we could call it. the takeover of the state capitol, including threats against the governor. how has that affected how they are preparing now for anything that might happen? guest: i think it really sets the scene for how we would respond, or it helps us imagine what is possible. right? i will say that there have not really been many steps taken to secure the capitol after those incidents you mentioned, when we had a really chaotic protest back in april when people who were really opposed to coronavirus lockdowns were demonstrative outside. the legislator -- legislature was in session so the building was open. they went in, many of them carrying guns, which at the time, it was allowed to have any

sort of weapon in the building. and there were lots of crowds inside. people stood with guns in the gallery above lawmakers. they never took control of the building or anything, i would not call it a takeover, but i have talked to lawmakers who were sitting on the floor, who were really genuinely afraid and continue to be pretty afraid at an comfortable and not feel secure in the building. then we learned in october that the fbi has arrested people in our state. the attorney general had arrested. people who were planning to kidnap the governor. as part of that plan, storm the capitol building, and there were no security measures taken after either of those incidents. but there certainly were after the riot at the u.s. capitol last week. host: have there been other threats that have been publicized or that we know about

, against governor whitmer or other state officials along the lines of what we saw like you were just talking about? guest: or have been plenty of other protests. protesters have been going to state officials' homes like they do in other states, and protesting outside. which i have heard can be pretty scary from the inside, when there is a crowd outside and sometimes armed, protesting outside your home. host: and it's not just governor whitmer. the mayor of lansing sent a letter to governor whitmer asking for protection. what was he asking for, and what was the response? guest: this week, he was urged but our city council president to ask the governor for national guard assistance this week and in the coming days before the inauguration.

he wrote the letter and asked that the guards be activated in case. we learned friday that they would be, so they are ready to roll. host: you said earlier that during the protest in april, people were allowed to bring guns inside the u.s. capitol -- sorry, inside the michigan capitol, but you said something has changed since then. have there been any change? guest: there has. we have a commission that writes rules for the capitol building and they met in an emergency session, a really quick, unscheduled session this week and voted unanimously to ban open carry from the building, which is something they had voted on and not passed just a few months ago, but, like i said, after what we saw on capitol hill on the sixth, the tide apparently had changed and

now, open carry is no longer allowed. there is plenty of people who don't think that went far enough, because you still can conceal a weapon if you are licensed, you can carry a weapon concealed into the building. so, there is debate that largely falls on partisan lines, as far as i have observed, where some folks think that banning weapons period is too much, and others who think that an open carry ban simply is not enough to keep people out of the building. host: finally, what should we be keeping our eyes on in lansing for the next few days? guest: i would watch out for, i imagine what every statehouse reporter will tell you is just watch out for unrest outside our legislature. they will not be meeting this week. the building is closed because of the coronavirus, usually it is very open, so any action is

going to take place outside. we will have reporters on the ground. so watch the lansing state journal and we will let you know. host: well, keep us informed. we would like to thank carol thompson the statehouse watchdog reporter for the lansing state announcer: c-span's washington journal every day we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and discuss policy issues that impact you and coming up sunday morning, the author of american zealots, inside right wing domestic terrorism and university of massachusetts professor arie pelllin gefment. r the evolution of right wing extremism in the united states. the hills national correspondent reed wilson joins us about the state of u.s. politics including president-elect joe biden's inauguration and the upcoming senate impeachment hearings against president trump.

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harris announce several members of their white house science team. and then senate minority leader chuck schumer talks about the impeachment of president trump in the weekly democratic address. and after that, today's speech by vice president mike pence to sailors at naval air station lamore in california. next, president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris announce several members of their white house science team. from wilmington, delaware, this is about 40 minutes.