[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Actually, Northam is declaring a state of emergency before the protests even happen. Something about that strikes me as very sinister.

If the protest rally is peaceable, then the governor can claim that his declaration of a state of emergency was the reason that nothing bad happened. He can still claim that the participants are a danger, and can claim that they are linked to subversive groups. It's a way to control the public perception of the protest participants and put them in a bad light.