IN PHOTOS: History of tense situations at the California State Capitol
SACRAMENTO – As a symbol of the state, the Capitol building has been a lightning rod of activity over the course of California's sometimes turbulent history.
On Thursday, a "credible threat" prompted some lawmakers to evacuate from the building. Authorities said Wednesday night's shootings in Citrus Heights and Roseville appear to be linked to the threat – with a search still underway for the suspect, 30-year-old Hayward resident Jackson Pinney.
Despite the heightened alert status, it felt like business as usual inside the building on Thursday.
Young students could even still be seen getting tours inside the Capitol.
It's a stark contrast to just a few years ago when – in response to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol days earlier – security was tightened all around the California State Capitol.
California National Guard members and trucks were scattered all around the State Capitol grounds and surrounding areas to protect government buildings.
Law enforcement officials were concerned about more possible political unrest leading up to the inauguration of Pres. Joe Biden. Despite some protests, no major incidents occurred.
However, this was not the case back on June 26, 2016 when dueling protesters clashed outside the California State Capitol.
A group that called themselves the Traditionalist Worker Party, along with the Golden State Skinheads, organized a rally outside the Capitol that Sunday. They were met by counter-protesters and the situation escalated – ending with nearly a dozen people being stabbed or beaten.
More than a decade earlier, in 2001, the California State Capitol was the site of a bizarre attack that saw a big rig crash right into the front of the building.
Authorities said a parolee with a reported grudge against then-Gov. Gray Davis was behind the attack, which happened just as the Assembly was clearing out after an evening session. The suspect died in the incident.
The shocking image of the burned-out truck in front of California's Capitol left a lasting impression – and prompted the installation of new anti-vehicle obstacles all around the building.
Decades before that, the California State Capitol became a flashpoint during the Civil Rights Movement. On May 2, 1967, armed protesters entered the Capitol building and Assembly chambers.
The images of protesters walking the halls of the Capitol armed with shotguns and rifles thrust the Black Panther Party into the national spotlight.
The protest was in response to the then-pending Mulford Act, which would prohibit Californians from carrying loaded firearms in public without a permit. Ronald Reagan, who was California's governor at the time, went on to sign that bill into law a little over a month after the incident.
The California State Capitol building was completed in 1874.
