Virginia, more than a 2020 political battleground, is proxy fight of gun rights, which will be on display there at pro-gun rally Monday, after President Donald Trump tweeted the Second Amendment "is under very serious attack" in Virginia.
Trump tweeted Friday:
"Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. That's what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!"
The once-conservative state is now under control of Democrats seeking to impose gun control, making it ground zero for 2020 gun-rights activism. Thousands are expected at Virginia Citizens Defense League's yearly rally Monday in Richmond, Virginia, and local officials are fearing a Charlottesville-like political standoff.
The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police, and the Richmond Police are all coordinating the event and have plans for a huge police presence at Monday's rally. One woman was killed and more than 30 other people were hurt when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville in August 2017.
Retired Lt. Col. Daniel Gade, who is running for Senate in Virginia in 2020, will be at the rally and says he has been attending them across the state.
"Every single one is peaceful," Gade told Fox News "Fox & Friends" on Sunday morning. "These are not activists. These are not gun nuts. These are just peaceful Virginians standing up for civil rights, and that's what I expect to see in Richmond [on Monday]."
Gade, a veteran who lost his leg while serving, is running against Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who has been one of Trump's most vocal antagonists. Warner is also actively seeking gun control.
"He's a gun grabber," Gade said. "He was endorsed by the NRA as governor and now as senator he's come out for assault weapons ban and all this other stuff.
"So, it's time to throw him out, and it's time to flip Virginia back red, and that's why I am running."