The Minnesota State Capitol building will be closed to public activities inside the building this week, according to a Minnesota Department of Administration alert to building tenants on Wednesday. Outside the building, a security fence has been reinstalled.
The alert comes before several events including a march for voting rights and a "Show Up, Minnesota!" event, as well as others planned throughout this week.
The Capitol was in a similar state for most of the last year following the start of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin.
“We are writing to let you know as a building tenant that this will be a very busy week for events on the Capitol grounds,” the alert said. “Event organizers anticipate multiple days of events with thousands of attendees. As a public safety precaution, the Department of Administration will temporarily close the interior of the Minnesota State Capitol Building public activities.”
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The closure is being called short-term and comes at the request of the Minnesota State Patrol to protect the public and those working at the Capitol as they expect a large number of demonstrations.
Building tenants will continue to have access to their offices throughout the closure, and the Capitol grounds will remain open to the public, and scheduled events will still be held.