There’s been a noticeable uptick in violent rhetoric around the event and heated discussions centered on Babbitt’s shooting on social media and discussion boards, according to the memo. The document warns that many individuals may also see September 18 as a “Justice for Ashli Babbitt” rally, which could be cause for concern, and it’s not unreasonable to plan for violent altercations. There have been additional discussions of violence associated with the event, with one online chat suggesting violence against Jewish centers and liberal churches while law enforcement is distracted that day.
A Capitol security source told CNN the board is “likely” to approve the request, but the proposed temporary fencing footprint is expected to be smaller than previous fencing and is not expected to obstruct traffic.
The Capitol Police are also “working with Capitol region law enforcement partners and other law enforcement agencies,” a congressional source said, while the Metropolitan Police Department plans to be fully activated that weekend.
During her weekly news conference on Wednesday, Pelosi declined to get into specifics on what security measures will be in place that day, but told reporters, “We intend to have the integrity of the Capitol be intact.”
“I think they should take it very seriously. In fact, they should take it more seriously than they took the same sort of intelligence that they likely saw on January 5,” McCabe, a CNN contributor, told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on “Erin Burnett OutFront” earlier this week.
Matt Braynard, the lead organizer of the rally, said there would be no violence coming from his group and that the event would be peaceful. Braynard also tweeted on Wednesday that all members of Congress are welcome to speak at the rally.
“This is a completely peaceful protest,” he said in a Skype interview with CNN’s Jessica Schneider. “And we have told people that when they come, we don’t want to see any messaging about the election, we don’t want to see any messaging on T-shirts and flags or signs about candidates or anything like that.”
Around 500 people have indicated they plan to attend, though the memo notes that past recent events organized by this same group, Look Ahead America, had significantly lower attendance than expected and were peaceful. The rally is also taking place on a Saturday while the US House of Representatives is on recess, and there have been no noticeable increases in hotel reservations for that weekend, according to the memo.
The US Capitol Police said it cannot discuss security plans or briefings, but said the department is monitoring the rally closely and planning accordingly.
“After January 6, we made Department-wide changes to the way we gather and share intelligence internally and externally,” Manger said in a statement. “I am confident the work we are doing now will make sure our officers have what they need to keep everyone safe.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Wednesday.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Katie Bo Williams and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.