Troops flood Washington
WASHINGTON — All through downtown Washington, the primary sound for several blocks was the beeping of forklifts unloading more fencing.
There were no cars or scooters and seemingly no tourists Wednesday, just the occasional jogger and multiple construction crews at work. The US Capitol, which proved such a soft target last week, was visible only through lines of tall, black fence.
Two blocks from the White House, a group of uniformed National Guard troops emerged from a tour bus and headed into a hotel as a state of lockdown descended on Washington that will last through the Jan. 20 inauguration.
The number of National Guard troops coming to Washington to assist with security has so far grown to about 21,000, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Vice President Mike Pence at a briefing Thursday.
And officials have said the number could grow as law enforcement agencies review the ongoing threats.
“Clearly we are in uncharted waters,” said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Last week’s “violent insurrection” at the Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump has “impacted the way we are approaching working with our federal partners in planning for the 59th inauguration”, Ms Bowser said on Wednesday.
The FBI has warned that armed protests by violent Trump supporters were being planned in all 50 state capitals as well as in Washington for the days leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Between the pandemic and the security threat, Ms Bowser is flatout asking people not to come to the District of Columbia for the inauguration.
And at Ms Bowser’s request, a National Special Security Event declaration was moved up to January 13, a distinction she said “puts in place an entirely different command and control structure” for security.
The NSSE status is normal for a presidential inauguration and other major events like an international summit or the Super Bowl. But it’s rare to start the lockdown so far in advance of the event.