Pittsburgh police forces have received word of a potential large-scale protest if President Donald Trump fires Robert Mueller.
The information leads them to believe this protest will take place in Pittsburgh’s Central Business District within 24 hours of Special Counsel Mueller’s much-theorized removal. “We may be needed to assist in the event that there is a large-scale protest,” an internal e-mail warned. “Based on this information, beginning tomorrow, April 19, 2018 all major crimes detectives are required to bring a full uniform and any issued protective equipment, riot gear, with them to work until further notice.”
WTAE-TV news reporter Marcie Cipriani tweeted a confirmation of the action by Mayor Bill Peduto himself. According to Cipriani, the mayor has called these measures strictly a matter of taking proper precautions. “You want to be precautionary, especially on something that is unprecedented in American history,” he said.
In an official statement, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said:
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police receives information faily that we evaluate and prepare for if the event should occur. Events can include anything from extreme weather to potential demonstrations.
Often the events we prepare for do not occur. However, through an abundance of caution, we attempt to adequately prepare for an appropriate response.
We receive information regularly about potential events and/or threats, assess the credibility of the information and plan for a potential event. In this case, we have not assessed the credibility of the potential for disturbances, and we do not have any knowledge of the President’s decision-making process.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is confident the issue will never even be raised. So confident, in fact, that he struck down an attempt to protect Mueller from termination, whether or not it is approved next week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. McConnell bluntly told Fox News that “we’ll not be having this on the floor of the Senate.”
Trump himself has been anything but shy about his opinion on both the Russia investigation and Mueller himself. He has called it “corrupt” and “an attack on our country,” led by “the most biased group of people.” But he has also “agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined approach that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller,” saying that he has “full confidence in Ty Cobb, my Special Counsel, and have been fully advised throughout each phase of this process.”