US TIGHTENS SECURITY AHEAD OF JOE BIDEN′S INAUGURATION

Sun 17 January 2021:

Tall fences topped with thick, spiralling razor wire encased the US Capitol area on Friday, as thousands of heavily armed National Guardsmen stood watch. Bridges leading into the city will be closed beginning this weekend. Access to the grounds will be highly restricted.

State officials across the United States are preparing for potentially violent demonstrations in support of President Donald Trump in the days leading up to the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Several states, including California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Florida, had activated their National Guard forces to bolster security as of Saturday.

Authorities in Washington, DC were also bracing for more violence following the deadly storming of the seat of the country’s legislature by pro-Trump rioters on January 6.

 

The US capital city is already highly fortified several days out from the main event. Throngs of National Guardsmen have been sleeping on the floor of the Capitol building as their compatriots guard fenced roadblocks around the premises alongside large beige military trucks.

Officials have announced that as many as 25,000 of these troops will be available to secure the event, not to mention stepped up forces from the FBI, US Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department and US Capitol Police.

The swearing-in of the 46th president will lack not just the pomp and pageantry of years past, but also the symbolic openness characteristic of the peaceful transfer of power in what is perhaps the world’s proudest democracy.

Trump has refused to attend the ceremony, still smarting from his loss and insisting the election was stolen.

The inauguration festivities will be broadly downsized to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as the country still struggles to contain the deadly pandemic.

On Sunday, the anti-government “Boogaloo” movement plans to hold rallies in all 50 states.

Texas state officials closed the Capitol through Inauguration Day, with Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw saying late on Friday that intelligence indicated “violent extremists” may seek to exploit planned armed protests in Austin to “conduct criminal acts”.

Meanwhile, a man with a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition has been arrested at a security checkpoint near the US Capitol.

Wesley Allen Beeler, of Virginia, had driven to a checkpoint on Friday evening and tried to use a fake credential to access the restricted area where Biden will be inaugurated next week, according to a document filed in Washington, DC Superior Court.

In a joint internal bulletin earlier this week, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center warned perceptions that the January 6 Capitol riot was a success could further embolden domestic extremists.

They said “false narratives” about electoral fraud would serve as a continuing catalyst for violent groups.

NEW: Intelligence, Homeland, Judiciary & Oversight Committees open review of January 6 insurrection, and ongoing threats.

What warning signs were missed? What were the systemic failures? How should we best counter domestic violent extremism?

READ: https://t.co/7WYeUZf2oh pic.twitter.com/ehf6FVvyxw

— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) January 16, 2021

 

The security build-ups come after the FBI warned police agencies across the US of possible armed protests outside all 50 state capitol buildings starting on Saturday and lasting through Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.

Though the security enhancements are a newer development, much of the day’s festivities were already scaled back for reasons having less to do with physical threats and more to do with a biological threat: COVID-19.

As a result, perhaps the most apparent divergence from years past that will be apparent to audiences watching on television will be how sparsely attended it will be.