Las Vegas Review-Journal

SECURITY

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ident taking the oath of office and those who want to use the occasion to make a political statement.

The Women’s March on Washington, a rally to protect the civil rights of women and the most marginaliz­ed in society, is expected to draw 200,000 people from around the country to Washington, including several hundred participan­ts from Nevada. They expect a peaceful rally. “Security is something we take very seriously, but we don’t anticipate any problems,” said Jean Dunbar, a Las Vegas medical field worker who is helping lead the Nevada delegation of the Women’s March.

Dunbar expects several hundred people from Nevada to take part in the rally.

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said his office has doled out hundreds of tickets to the inaugurati­on for those seeking to watch and hear Trump take the oath and deliver his speech Friday.

Streets surroundin­g the Capitol and the parade route will be closed Thursday, a day before the inaugurati­on.

Visitors flocking into the capital city will find a fortress. In addition to barriers, fences are being erected and subway stations closed to regulate crowd flows.

Brian Ebert, Secret Service special agent in charge, said the plan creates a “buffer zone” to “defend against a number of threats.”

Law enforcemen­t will include federal offices from the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the military. An additional 3,000 police officers and 5,000 members of the National Guard will be on hand.

Organizers say the security is similar to past inaugural events.

More than 2 million people attended President Barack Obama’s first inaugural ceremony and parade in 2009. A crowd about half of that attended his second swearing-in.

Organizers are planning for a crowd of less than a million for the Trump inaugurati­on and parade, a size on par with the second Obama inaugurati­on and those of President George W. Bush.

Security is also focused on the Trump Internatio­nal Hotel, which is on the Pennsylvan­ia Avenue parade route.

It’s unknown whether Trump plans to walk along the route in front of the hotel that bears his name, or whether he will remain in a motorcade from near the U.S. Capitol to the White House.

Regardless of Trump’s intention, Ebert said planning is complete and the Secret Service plans to create a “robust security perimeter” to ensure that the 58th Inaugural Parade and other events are safe for all participan­ts. Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjour­nal.com or at 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartin­dc on Twitter.

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