AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The FBI has briefed the Amarillo Police Department, as the bureau warns of nationwide armed protests leading up to the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.

Amarillo Police Chief Martin Birkenfeld said Thursday there was no imminent threat on the horizon for Amarillo.

“Right now, our community is very calm. There’s certainly been a lot of questions coming in, to us as individuals at the police department and other parts of our government, and I’m here to assure everybody that right now, things are fine,” Chief Birkenfeld said. “We’re not looking at any major unrest going on at this time.”

On Thursday, Chief Birkenfeld told MyHighPlains.com he had been briefed by the FBI. He said APD officers know what to expect in the coming days.

He continued, “We feel like we’re ready. It’s just hard to plan for everything, because you know, you have to have rest for—for people, and so we can’t maintain 24/7 100% capacity. So we’re kind of staging that and as we see things, or if we see things ramp up, and then we’ll certainly be prepared.”

Chief Birkenfeld also discussed his expectation of APD officers should protests or riots occur.

“We expect Police officers to abide by the laws and the rulings that are set out before us. Again, our job is not political. What a person does in their own time, it is their choice, but they, you know, each of us has to realize that there’s consequences to our actions, whether we’re on duty or off duty,” Chief Birkenfeld added.

He also said he wants the public to be reminded of the importance of verifying information during these tense times in our nation’s history.

“It’s easy to latch on to a theme that that seems like it could be legitimate, but realize that you need to verify the information and make sure what you’re hearing is actually true,” said Chief Birkenfeld, “If you have questions you can call us at the police department, we’ll be happy to talk with you about your concerns in the community, and make sure that any—any fears that you have are addressed, you know, whether they’re legitimate or whether they’re based on misinformation or disinformation.”

According to Birkenfeld, APD’s analyst unit tracks activity in our community to make sure events occur safely and address any threats that pop up.

“Anytime a person makes an overt threat, and you feel like there’s some danger to that threat or some legitimacy to that, and certainly report that to law enforcement,” he said.

“Our analysts look at all kinds of intelligence, including open sources, and then we compile risk assessments based on that. And then, in some cases, we’ll investigate and talk to folks and find out what their intent is. We don’t want to infringe on anybody’s free speech. But there are limits to free speech, including, you know, making threats or putting other people in real danger and that’s where we draw the line.”

When asked if APD analysts had seen an increase in this type of incidence, Chief Birkenfeld said, “It’s hard to say, you know, I don’t want to speculate because—because certainly, if you look broad enough, there’s a—there’s an increase. The report I got today, there’s nothing that’s alarming so far.”

MyHighPlains.com asked Chief Birkenfeld whether APD is concerned about anti-government militias popping up in the Amarillo area. He said they are monitoring.

“We’re always concerned about extremist groups, no matter what their ideology comes from and so we monitor those situations,” Chief Birkenfeld said. “And we’re not going to take the position that
Amarillo is completely safe. We’re always prepared for emergencies and exigencies that might occur, especially in times like this, where things are a little tumultuous around the country. So we’re prepared and we’re watching.”

KXAN in Austin reported some have concerns about safety around the Texas State Capitol after armed protesters showed up for the first day of the legislative session Tuesday.

In some photos, Chairman of the Texas Republican Party Allen West could be seen posing with members of an armed militia group. There were no acts of violence, but it came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned armed demonstrations are being planned at all 50 state capitols.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has increased patrols around the Texas state capitol ahead of Inauguration Day.