HELENA — At the Montana State Capitol, Inauguration Day was quiet.
The Montana Department of Administration reported no significant organized demonstrations at the Capitol, and for most of the day, no one was making any political displays outside the building.
Steve Baiamonte, administrator of the state General Services Division, said they did have additional security resources on hand Wednesday, out of an abundance of caution. He said they worked closely with the Helena Police Department and other law enforcement partners.
“I’d say what we did here is probably what happened in all 50 state capitols today: Law enforcement was working locally with the capitols just to make sure that there were no issues,” he said.
Statehouses across the country had prepared for possible protests, starting Sunday and running through Inauguration Day. Reports say most saw only small demonstrations Wednesday.
Baiamonte told MTN earlier this month that they had not made significant changes to security procedures at the Montana State Capitol after the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. He said security will continue to be a priority as the Montana Legislature continues its session.
“Our job is to always keep people safe here and to always be cognizant of any potential threats or issues, so we’ll just continue on with business as usual and we’ll just respond accordingly to any issues that we see on the horizon,” Baiamonte said.
