National Guard troops flooding into the city as DC locks down
Lockdown to last through Jan. 20
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 Wednesday, just multiple construction crews at work. The U.S. Capitol, which proved such a soft target last week, was visible only through lines of tall, black fencing.
Two blocks from the White House, a group of uniformed National Guard troops 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. Officials have said the number could grow as law enforcement agencies review the ongoing threats.
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,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said 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, Bowser is asking people not to come to D.C. for the inauguration. And, at Bowser’s request, a National Special Security Event declaration was moved up to Jan. 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, such as an international summit or the Super Bowl. But it’s rare to start the lockdown so far in advance of the event.
Police vehicles sealed off a huge swath of downtown D.C. on Wednesday, after which, Bowser said, anyone inside the inauguration perimeter might be stopped and questioned. From Friday, all parking garages in the downtown restricted zone will be sealed through the inauguration. The city also announced that 13 Metro stations inside the security perimeter will shut down for several days.
Bowser is also being pushed to deny lodging options to potentially violent protesters.
On the ground, much of the most visible security will come in the form of the National Guard troops, some of them armed. Pentagon officials approved requests to have some of them carry either long guns or handguns, particularly those assigned near the Capitol building.
National Guard members operate under strict rules of engagement on the use of force. But generally speaking, troops can use lethal force to protect the lives of others and themselves.
U.S. defense officials say state leaders have made it clear that their priority is to protect their own capitals, which are on alert against violent protests or attacks, but they also have given assurances that they will have enough troops to send some support to the U.S. Capitol.