Troops flood a rattled Washington ahead of Biden inauguration
Law-enforcement authorities, responding to threats of violence before the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, will deploy up to 15,000 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital and set up checkpoints to avoid the botched response that helped rioters overrun the Capitol last week.
Sixteen groups — some of them armed and most of them hard-line supporters of President Donald Trump — have registered to stage protests in Washington, prompting deep concern among federal officials about an event that has historically been a packed celebration of American democracy. With coronavirus cases soaring and the deadly siege of the Capitol still fresh, the leaders of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia issued a joint statement asking Americans to stay away from the inauguration of Joe Biden and instead tune in virtually.
Police said there will be no public access to the grounds of the Capitol for the inauguration, which is a ticketed event.
The FBI has notified local law enforcement of the potential for armed protests in all 50 state capitals. The protests are being organized and promoted by far-right extremist groups.
Despite the increasing alarm, Biden’s inaugural committee said he was determined to make an outdoor appearance at the event to call on a divided nation to come together at a time of political and public-health crisis. The inauguration’s theme is “America United.”
Biden also plans to visit Arlington National Cemetery with three former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — adding another challenge for federal law-enforcement authorities.
“I’m not afraid of taking the oath outside,” Biden said Monday.
But the inauguration of the 46th president could echo the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, whose procession to the half-built Capitol was surrounded by heavily armed cavalry and infantry troops marching through a city on the brink of civil war.
Complicating the security effort further, Chad F. Wolf, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, announced Monday that he would be resigning as acting secretary at midnight Monday. The department includes the Secret Service, which is leading inauguration security. Wolf will remain with the department as an undersecretary for policy, a position for which he was confirmed by the Senate.
“This inauguration is going to look differently than previous inaugurations, I think we all know that,” said Michael Plati, the Secret Service special agent in charge leading security planning for the inauguration, who referred to lessons learned from last Wednesday.
About 6,000 National Guard troops have already arrived in Washington, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said Monday; by this weekend, that number is expected to have grown to 10,000.
Defense Department officials have expressed concern that some of the protesters who stormed the Capitol are former military members. While the department has not announced a specific search for deployed National Guard troops with sympathies for the pro-Trump protesters, officials said they were reviewing photographs and videos from the protests.
“We do not tolerate extremists in our ranks,” a Penta
gon spokesperson told reporters.
Beyond the Capitol, the Secret Service is establishing a “healthy, layered buffer” with vehicle checkpoints, metal detectors and additional security screenings to prevent another deadly siege, Plati said.
“Obviously, the Capitol is a significant event,” he said. “We are sensitive to that. We constantly are evaluating our security plans.”
With far-right extremists continuing to plot on online platforms, one senior Pentagon official called the security situation “unprecedented.”
Flyers circulated in encrypted WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram groups over the weekend calling for an “armed march on Capitol
Hill and all state capitols” at noon Jan. 17.
Far-right extremist groups continue to plot online. Nearly 400 people had joined a private group online dedicated to “Million Militia March” in Washington on Jan. 20. Commenters have debated bringing baseball bats and body armor.