Armed protest in Columbus on Sunday was peaceful Courtesy of Jake Zuckerman. and last updated 2021-01-18 09:38:44-05 COLUMBUS, Ohio â The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement. A cohort of armed men stood at the Statehouse steps calling for unity. A conspiracy theorist with a megaphone yelled about dangerous vaccines, 9/11 and the 2020 election. A Black Lives Matter activist simply waved a flag in celebration of the looming inauguration of a new president. The entire Sunday crowd of roughly 100 stood, braving a sometimes-heavy snowfall, outside a Statehouse fortified with Humvees, National Guardsmen, and police barriers.