Trump supporters who wanted to intimidate Alaska lawmakers in the state capital on Sunday with a show of force by an armed mob made a slight mistake when they told people to meet at Anchorage’s Dimond Mall, not at the Dimond Courthouse, located across the street from the state capitol building.
The problem? The Dimond Courthouse is in Juneau, not Anchorage. And Juneau is 600 miles (as the bird flies) from Anchorage. Given Alaska’s jagged geography, that’s about a 20 hour drive.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, the management at the Dimond Mall caught wind of the armed protest at the mall–albeit in error–and will close on Sunday, the day of the scheduled event.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are still going to shut the center down on Sunday, which was the day of the event. And if nothing happens, then great. You know, though, we wish we were open,” Dimond Center general manager Bob Dye said, noting that he had a meeting with the FBI about the protest.
ADN reporters tried to contact the people trying to organize the event for a comment. After emailing contacts listed on website posts and various commenters, they finally got someone to respond.
“Organizers meant Juneau. Due to the mistake, the event is not likely to occur,” the email said.