Inauguration Day Security Turns D.C. into a 'War Zone'

 Secret Service Prep & Closures - Security Experts Weigh In - Internal & External Threats  

30,000-Foot View of Inauguration Security Measures
Everything to Know About Inauguration Day Security
Joe Biden will become our next president as scores of National Guard troops patrol Washington, D.C., streets, fencing topped with razor wire rings the U.S. Capitol and a large portion of the city is shut down.

Security is tight in D.C. ahead of Inauguration Day on Wednesday after the FBI warned of threats to the city and the possibility of armed groups demonstrating in support of outgoing President Donald Trump.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office two weeks after a mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power. Five people died, including a U.S. Capitol police officer and a woman shot by an officer.

Do not come to D.C. to witness the inauguration, the leaders of D.C., Maryland and Virginia said.

What Is Shut Down

Fences surround the Capitol, several Metro stations are closed and the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies have dramatically expanded the area that will be restricted for drivers.

A seven-foot-high, unscalable fence encircles the Capitol. Armed National Guard troops patrol the area, and military vehicles are on streets. The U.S. Capitol complex is closed to the public, and the grounds will not be accessible on Inauguration Day.

“Anyone attempting to unlawfully gain access to the Capitol Grounds by climbing a fence or any other unlawful means will be subject to an appropriate use of force and arrest,” Capitol Police said in a statement.

Several blocks around the White House are locked down. The area is bordered by K Street NW, 14th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW and 19th Street NW. Anyone attempting to enter can expect a security screening. Authorities may ask to see proof that people are in the area for an essential reason.

The area restricted for drivers spans as far north as Dupont Circle, as far east as Sixth Street NE, as far south as the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and as far west as the Potomac River. A smaller area will be completely closed to vehicles.

The D.C. road restrictions and closures will remain in place until after the inauguration, the Secret Service said. Officials warn that changes to road closures may be made if conditions warrant.

All parking garages and loading docks in the White House zone are restricted. Any vehicle remaining in any parking garage or loading dock within the zone will be stuck there until inauguration concludes, authorities say.

The restrictions apply to residential and commercial buildings. Business deliveries must receive special screening at an off-site facility.

A number of bridges that cross the Potomac River and Anacostia River will be closed. If you have to travel between D.C. and Virginia, or between Ward 7 or Ward 8 and the remainder of the city, make plans now. The bridge closures will be in effect from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Thursday, the Secret Service said. Go here for full info.

The Pentagon station will be closed on Inauguration Day only.

Trains will pass through the affected stations without stopping, and are operating on a Saturday schedule of every 12 minutes on the Red Line and every 15 minutes on every other line.

In addition, 26 bus routes are detoured around the security perimeter. Metrobus will operate normal service on weekdays and weekends to accommodate customers making trips outside the security zone, with the exception of Inauguration Day, when buses will operate on a Saturday schedule.

What We Know About Potential Security Threats

The FBI has warned of threats to D.C., including to lawmakers and federal monuments, and the possibility of armed groups demonstrating in the District on Inauguration Day.

An FBI memo with information from multiple federal law enforcement agencies contained information from social media and other sources. While the memo warned of possible threats discussed by online actors, it doesn’t mean that law enforcement agencies expect violent mass protests or confrontations in every state capitol, NBC News reported.

D.C. Acting Police Chief Robert Contee said his department faces “major security threats.” He said In his decades-long career with the Metropolitan Police Department, he had never seen so many agencies provide such a high level of help for a large event.

D.C. has a National Special Security Event status, which increases security to maximum levels. "It is all hands on deck for this from the federal, state and local law enforcement and intelligence communities," said Matthew Doherty, former head of the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center.

“We are very confident about that type of coordination as we have been with other National Special Security Events,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. nbcwashington.com

Click here to learn more about the Secret Service's inauguration preparations
 

Secret Service Road & Bridge Closures
2021 Presidential Inaugural Subcommittees Announce Joint Transportation Plan
The U.S. Secret Service, along with law enforcement and public safety partners, provide the joint transportation plan surrounding the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. This transportation plan provides information regarding road closures, vehicle restrictions, public transportation, parking restrictions and pedestrian routes. This plan is subject to additions or alterations as the National Special Security Event evolves.

Essential employees who normally cross these bridges to access their place of employment are encouraged to seek access to Washington from the east via 295 North at E. Capitol St., Benning Rd. or New York Ave. (Route 50).

Additionally, drivers will be able to enter Washington from the Capital Beltway in Maryland. All major roadways leading into the District are open. Both the Wilson and American Legion Bridges will remain open for traffic between Virginia and Maryland. Chain Bridge will also remain open.

All vehicles, including delivery vehicles that do not have appropriate credentials, will not be able to access restricted zones between midnight, January 19, and January 21 at a time to be determined.

There is the potential for intermittent closures in the downtown area.

Access into Washington, D.C. will be limited Jan. 16-21. The following is a comprehensive map and summary of routes and their status that day:

Click to enlarge map

Security Experts Weigh In
'War zone': Inauguration security reaches levels unseen in DC

Law enforcement at all levels working to secure Joe Biden's inauguration

For a city where motorcades and Secret Service details are a way of life, security measures underway in Washington for Inauguration Day have reached levels never before seen.

Getting into, around and through Washington got much more difficult Tuesday. On this inauguration eve, the security measures kept coming and changing, which kept D.C. residents looking for a workaround.

Road restrictions stretched up to Dupont Circle, there was another round of Metrorail and Metrobus closures, new detours were put in place and bridges into D.C. were shut down.

"Obviously, having a vast portion of the city shut down to car traffic and everything like that is new, something that you have to get used to," said John Stacy, a Capitol Hill resident.

"I didn't even know if I was going to be able to get up here and set up the way it was looking, so I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, so I just have to take it day by day," said Frank Lloyd, a street vendor. "For me and a lot of other vendors and people who anticipated making a lot of money, they're not going to be able to do it."

Even D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared to be adjusting to the new roadmap, holding her Tuesday press briefing outside the security zone and in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, southeast of the U.S. Capitol building.

"We, of course, also welcome the opportunity to show our fellow Americans the 63 square miles that lie outside the security perimeter that they're seeing on the news," Bowser said. "We have been through a lot together in this country, and while we've had some dark days over the past year, we've also witnessed how resilient we are as a people."

"(It's a) war zone. It's terrible. War zone. It does look like a war," said Tammy Mason, a tourist from Michigan. "(There are) police, (you) can't get off on certain buses, but we already made the plans and we like (President-elect Joe) Biden and (Vice President-elect Kamala) Harris, and we're sticking with them."

Security expert weighs in

WBAL-TV 11 News spoke with Bill Sieglein, a security expert who has a word of warning for people in every state.

“This will probably be the tightest security around an inauguration in our nations' history," Sieglein said.

And one that's including some unprecedented security measures, according to Sieglein.

“One, is they're vetting all the police officers and even some of the special guard forces to make sure their loyalties are not to the former administration, I mean that's as far as they're going on this,” he said.

Sieglein said they've set up an unusually large perimeter around the Capitol where Biden will be sworn in and only a small group of pre-approved people will be allowed in.

“They're shutting down D.C. pretty much entirely. All the airspace overhead will be shut down and they'll make sure there's nothing: no drones flying, no other type of aircraft. They'll take no large vehicles, no busses, no RVs, no trucks anywhere within a perimeter,” he said.

Sieglein recommends staying away from Washington, D.C. Wednesday and staying off the streets in all major cities after a number of threats against state capitols.

Though no word of a direct threat against Annapolis, Maryland is stepping up security around the state house using a number of police agencies.

The Department of General Services sent a statement to 11 News saying: "The Maryland Capitol Police in conjunction with the Maryland State Police and other supporting law enforcement agencies continue to coordinate our joint law enforcement efforts around the Annapolis Government Campus. New or enhanced security procedures around the Annapolis Government Campus include a series of actions to leverage existing security infrastructure upgrades including additional police officers and support security personnel, increased identification procedures for building entry and limiting proximity access to all General Services’ buildings. These actions are being taken as a precaution for the safety of all persons doing business on state property and will ensure the protection of state employees, our buildings and grounds, and visitors to our Annapolis complex buildings."

Sieglein said he's hopeful with all of this that it will be a safe inauguration. State police say they are in contact with other law enforcement agencies around the state and the FBI, monitoring for any possible threat here in Maryland.

The Secret Service said the road restrictions and closures will remain in place until Thursday. wbaltv.com

National Guard Members from Nearly Every State
The National Guard often responds to natural disasters. It’s seeking to prevent a man-made one at the Capitol
Nearly 25,000 members of the National Guard have descended upon Washington — some for the first time — to help ensure the safety of the seat of American democracy and the inauguration Wednesday of President-elect Joe Biden.

Nearly every state in the country has plucked members of the Guard from their regular day jobs — as teachers, salesclerks and students — and activated them into duty on Capitol Hill in one of the largest stateside operations in the history of the Guard. With the Capitol Police, these citizen soldiers have transformed Capitol Hill into an American version of Baghdad’s tightly protected Green Zone.

National Guard troops now line the tall, black fences installed around the Capitol complex in the days after the attack. They scan for suspicious drivers on the street or packages left on the sidewalk. Others are helping to staff traffic checkpoints and support local law enforcement. Perhaps most important, they provide a powerful message and image to the millions of Americans who watched coverage of the assault and will watch Biden’s inauguration. latimes.com

Media Outlets Hiring Security & Holding Safety Training
Bulletproof vests and gas masks: Journalists prep for Inauguration Day
Newsrooms like the LA Times have distributed protective equipment and held safety trainings to prepare reporters for Inauguration Day. Protests and demonstrations around the ceremony in Washington, DC are typical, but after the riots on January 6, journalists are preparing for another violent outbreak.

At least nine journalists were physically assaulted, at least five journalists were arrested and at least four had equipment damaged while covering the insurrection, US Press Freedom Tracker managing editor Kirstin McCudden told Poynter.

Media organizations have recently sent out tips and guidance for journalists in the field. The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) launched a journalist training and resource center last week about reporting "ethically and safely" during civil unrest.

Gannett (GCI), the largest US newspaper conglomerate which publishes USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, The Arizona Republic and hundreds of other local papers, has hosted several trainings and panels during the past week. More than 3,000 Gannett journalists listened to a panel last Wednesday where Henderson and others who were at the Capitol and had covered other protests shared their expertise.

Newsrooms are having journalists work in teams so that no one is out on the field alone. Some are hiring security, too. Peter Gorenstein, chief content officer at Cheddar, told Digiday his two reporters on the ground that day will have a security guard. cnn.com
 

Internal & External Threats to the Inauguration


Insider Security Threat?
12 National Guard Members Removed From Inauguration Duties Amid Extremist Threats
Twelve National Guard members have been removed from duties related to the inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., two of them for expressing anti-government sentiments, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday.

Two of the members were removed over texts and social media posts that made threatening comments toward political officials, Pentagon officials said. They declined to specify the exact nature of the threats.

“I will share that they were inappropriate,” Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters during a telephone briefing.

Two officials described the texts as broad in nature — not directed specifically at Mr. Biden or Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, but rather at lawmakers as a whole. One of the service members removed, the officials said, made a point of expressing support for President Trump in addition to making menacing comments.

General Hokanson said that one case was reported by the service member’s chain of command and that the other was flagged through a tip to a hotline.

The other 10 National Guard members were removed for a wide variety of issues — criminal investigations, domestic abuse or outstanding complaints. All 12 members have been sent home, Pentagon officials said.

The announcement of the removals came as the Pentagon was intensifying efforts to identify and combat white supremacy and other far-right extremism in its ranks, and as federal investigators sought to determine how many military personnel and veterans joined the violent assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6. The effort seems intended to remove any members whose social media posts or past actions raise suspicion.

General Hokanson noted that the authorities were not taking any chances one day before the inauguration and as investigators have expressed concerns that some extremists may try to impersonate National Guard members by wearing military uniforms.

The acting defense secretary, Christopher C. Miller, said on Sunday that the F.B.I. was helping the military vet more than 25,000 National Guard members being deployed to help protect the Capitol and areas in central Washington because of potential security concerns.

All military personnel, including those in the National Guard, undergo extensive background investigations and physical examinations, including assessments of tattoos. They are continuously monitored for indications that they are involved in extremist activity and receive training to identify others around them who could be “insider threats.”

The military’s examination of its ranks is a turning point for the Pentagon, which has a history of downplaying the rise of white nationalism and right-wing activism, even as Germany and other countries are finding a deep strain embedded in their armed forces.

Federal officials are vetting thousands of National Guard members arriving to help secure the inauguration. Of the 25,000 Guard personnel who are in Washington, any who will be near Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris will receive additional background checks, a standard procedure to counter insider threats that was also taken before Mr. Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

In addition to the National Guard members, the Pentagon plans to deploy about 2,750 active-duty personnel in support of the event. About 2,000 of them will perform ceremonial duties in military bands, color guards and a salute-gun battery, and serve as sentries and ushers.

The remaining 750 are members assigned to specialized units dealing with chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological threats; bomb squad technicians; medical personnel (including those conducting coronavirus testing in support of the attending physician of Congress); and logistics and communications support personnel.

Coast Guard helicopters and vessels will be in the air and nearby waterways.

Air Force fighter jets stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland will be aloft over the region. The air space over the Capitol, the National Mall and the rest of the city will be even more restricted than usual, Pentagon officials said. nytimes.com

Armed Protesters, Militia Groups
State Capitols, Warned of Threats, Stay on High Alert
Still, officials were readying for the potential of violent protests in the coming days — leading up to the presidential inauguration on Wednesday — after the F.B.I. warned that armed protesters could target capital cities across the country.

On Sunday, about 25 members of the antigovernment extremist “boogaloo” movement were among the heavily armed protesters who gathered at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. But the men — who are part of a group that hopes a second civil war will lead to the U.S. government’s overthrow — said they were there for a long-planned gun rights rally that they insisted had nothing to do with President Trump.

At least 19 states deployed National Guard troops to their capitols, and several shut down statehouse grounds and delayed legislative sessions in response to the F.B.I. warning. nytimes.com