Sparse crowds protesting outside U.S. Capitol outnumbered by police

In a city still on edge after the Jan. 6 insurrection, law enforcement bore down in large numbers on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Saturday over concerns that a rally in support of the jailed rioters would turn violent.

It didn't — the crowd was sparse and incidents were few.

The only clear parallels to the riots more than eight months ago by supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump were the false claims put forth by the rally organizers about the January violence.

The low turnout also called into question whether such rallies will have any staying power as the organizers attempt to tap into the rage of Jan. 6 without the presence of the former president.

Law enforcement had prepared for a confrontation by erecting temporary fencing around the Capitol and deploying heavy dump trucks to ring the rally site. Local police departments and the U.S. National Guard were on standby.

The security might have been unnecessary in the end, but the volatility around the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and the presence of extremists and white nationalist groups on Jan. 6 have made it impossible to predict how such events will go.

U.S. Capitol Police said they received intelligence information that was similar to what was missed in January, when law enforcement officials were expecting only a free-speech protest and Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol.