Fences with coiled barbed wire, security checkpoints, barricades, and heavily armed guards are what you would expect in a military encampment for a warzone, not in downtown Washington. But these are only some of the measures that have been put in place in preparation for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
Federal authorities have said they’re tracking an “extensive” amount of “concerning online chatter” about potential threats to the inauguration, including armed protests, potential threats linked to the Capitol breach, and other types of potential threats.
The fortification of the city, particularly around the White House and U.S. Capitol, began over the past few days and is expected to ramp up nearing Jan. 20.
The locked-down city has been separated into “Green” and “Red” zones as part of the 2021 Presidential Inaugural Subcommittees’ transportation plan. The U.S. Secret Service has posted a list of all the street closures on its website, many of which began at 6 a.m. on Jan. 16, and are scheduled to end at 6 a.m. on Jan. 21. A number of bridges and interstate highways into Washington are also scheduled to close at 6 a.m. on Jan. 19.
Concertina razor wire tops the 8-foot 'non-scalable' fence that surrounds the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 14, 2020. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Fences block off the White House South Lawn on Jan. 16, 2021. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
As many as 25,000 National Guard members from all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia will be stationed in the city next week, the U.S. Army confirmed, which is an increase of 5,000 from numbers earlier this week. The number of guardsmen sent to Washington exceeds the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which has been reduced to 2,500, the Pentagon said on Jan. 15.
National Guardsmen were given the authorization to be armed on Jan. 12 in order to support law enforcement in the Capitol and the city, according to a statement by the D.C. National Guard. The authorization came after a request by federal authorities. Troops have been on 24-hour watch in the U.S. Capitol, and off-duty troops have been photographed sleeping in building hallways.
The increased number of National Guard members will be there to supplement the already ramped-up forces from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Capitol Police, and D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.
Members of the National Guard stand guard behind fences erected around the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 16, 2021. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Virginia National Guard soldiers march across the east from of the U.S. Capitol on their way to their guard posts in Washington on Jan. 16, 2021. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Before resigning from office, former Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement on Jan. 11 that he had instructed the U.S. Secret service to begin National Special Security Event operations for the inauguration from Jan. 13.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also increased its security measures ahead of the inauguration. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement that the agency is currently processing hundreds of names with law enforcement agencies as part of a risk assessment. The agency will also add additional layers of security at all three D.C.-area airports.
“Those security layers include more law enforcement and explosives detection canine teams, random gate screening, increased number of Federal Air Marshals on certain flights, and additional Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams to provide greater security presence at certain rail transportation hubs,” Pekoske said.
A person crosses the street at a road block guarded by Pennsylvania 112th Infantry Regiment National Guard in Washington on Jan. 16, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard stand guard in Washington on Jan. 15, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and security officials have also urged Americans to stay home to watch the inauguration virtually.
“We know this is the right request for our public safety and our public health,” she said on Jan. 15.
D.C. officials estimate the inauguration will cost roughly $45 million due to the increased security measures. So far, Congress has approved $34.9 million, Christopher Rodriguez, director of D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said in a press conference on Jan. 15.
Rodriguez said the amount was keeping in mind deficits that the district had run “because of the heightened number of first amendment demonstrations” seen throughout 2020.
In 2017, security for President Donald Trump’s inauguration cost around $27 million, according to Rodriguez—around $7 million more than the $19.995 million approved by Congress.
Civil Liberties
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) has criticized the way the government and authorities have reacted to the events on Jan. 6, noting that civil liberties of the individual can be lost “very quickly” during times of crisis.
“You know government. They either underreact or overreact. So I think there was too little security obviously last week, and now we’re going to become a militarized zone,” Paul said in an interview with Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle.”
“And they’re checking congressmen as they come in to see if they have a sharp pencil or a sharp pen. So, it’s gotten ridiculous. And so we’ll see what happens, and whether it’s permanent. But most people who write about civil liberties say that in times of war, or in times of stress, or in times of crisis, you lose your civil liberties very quickly.”
He also noted that once American’s civil liberties are lost, “it’s very difficult to get them back.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the Senate subway area of the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times
“Because government, once it grows large, never wants to give up on this. But yes, we have to resist this. And we have to have security, obviously. But I think living in a wartime state with ... we have troops in the Capitol, they’re staying in the Capitol. They’re platooning and camping in the Capitol. So I understand that last week, we weren’t prepared, and that was a real problem, and I regret everything that happened last week with that, but going forward, this week, I think we—there’s a danger of overreacting,” he said.
Vice President Mike Pence during a security briefing on Jan. 14 said the Trump administration is committed to ensuring a safe transition of power to Biden.
“We all lived through that day—January 6. And as the president made clear yesterday, we are committed to an orderly transition and to a safe inauguration. The American people deserve nothing less,” Pence said.
The U.S. Capitol Police on Jan. 16 announced that it had arrested a man at an inaugural security checkpoint on Jan. 15 who had presented a non-government-issued credential. The man, Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Virginia, was carrying a handgun in plain sight in his vehicle, and a search of his car revealed numerous rounds of ammunition, authorities said.
He’s been charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of unregistered ammunition.
Beeler told media following his release on Jan. 16 that he was working as hired security in downtown Washington, according to The Washington Post. He said he had forgotten that his firearm was in his truck when he left home in Virginia, where he has a license to carry.
“I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in D.C. because I’m a country boy,” he told the newspaper. “I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me.”
Janita Kan
Writer
Janita Kan is a former reporter for The Epoch Times.
