RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State officials and U.S. hate-monitoring groups are warning about the potential for violence ahead of a gun-rights rally in Virginia that’s expected to draw a mix of militias, firearms advocates and white supremacists to Richmond.

Citing credible threats of violence, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency days ahead of Monday’s rally, banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square.

Virginia’s solicitor general last week said law enforcement had identified “credible evidence” armed out-of-state groups planned to come to Virginia with the possible intention of participating in a “violent insurrection.”

Online, threats of violence have been “rampant” among anti-government and far-right groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks white supremacists and other extremists.

Conspiracy theories and other misinformation have also proliferated.

Organizers of an annual vigil at the Capitol for the victims of gun violence said Friday they have canceled their event this year because of fears of “armed insurrectionists.”

Meanwhile, the gun-rights group that has planned the event is urging peace.

A look at some of the groups involved:

Virginia Citizens Defense League

The Virginia Citizens Defense League, an influential grassroots gun-rights organization with a long record in the state, has been the leading force behind Monday’s rally.

Each year on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday the group holds a lobby day, typically attended by several hundred gun enthusiasts who rally and meet with lawmakers to discuss legislation.

But this year’s event is expected to draw an enormous crowd.

The VCDL has donated over $200,000 to state lawmakers since 2002, records show. The group has emphasized the rally is intended to be peaceful and urged members not to bring long guns, saying they would be a “distraction.”

“The eyes of the nation and the world are on Virginia and VCDL right now and we must show them that gun owners are not the problem,” the group wrote in a recent email to its members.

The group’s president, Philip Van Cleave, has been in the national spotlight before. In 2018, Van Cleave was duped into participating in Sacha Baron Cohen’s ambush chat show, where he advocated for arming children.

Gun Owners of America

The influential pro-gun group Gun Owners of America describes itself as the only “no-compromise” gun lobby in Washington and enjoys a loyal following.

Founded in 1975 by a California state lawmaker, Gun Owners of America joined the VCDL to seek an injunction against enforcement of Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order banning guns from the Capitol Square. The state Supreme Court upheld the ban late Friday.

On its website, the group has urged its members to attend Monday’s rally.