Inauguration Day Unlike Any Other as Capitol and States Beef Up Security Measures
Heightened restrictions, tighter security measures, and the first transition of power in modern history where the current president has announced his plans not to attend; the 2021 inauguration will be unlike any other in modern times.
National Guardsmen Descend Upon D.C.
25,000 National Guard troops have descended upon Washington D.C. as auxiliary support for police and other law enforcement agencies securing the area on Wednesday’s inauguration. This unprecedented manpower has sent a message across the nation about the city's devotion to keeping a repeat of January 6th from happening. This week, the FBI expressed its intent on further securing the National Mall by looking into the background of each Guard member as an attempt to further prevent an insider attack from happening.
Unlike other law enforcement agencies, National Guard members hold civilian full-time jobs and serve only part-time as guard members. As part of their duties, guard members are required to train one weekend per month and one two-week period per year. Also, unlike the Armed Forces, the Army National Guard acts as reserves only and is typically unarmed. However, early last week the nation's Capitol authorized the National Guard to carry deadly weapons while serving in the days before and after the inauguration. Rules of engagement remain clear that law enforcement agencies including the police and the Secret Service will continue to be the primary authorities who will be making arrests and responding with necessary force. The National Guard will primarily serve as providing order and force in numbers.
States Respond with Similar Security Measures
As security measures ramp up in the Nation's Capitol, states all across the nation continue to be on high alert after the FBI warned local law enforcement that armed protest and the "storming" of courthouses on the federal, state, and local levels have been planned.
Law enforcement officials have picked up on the threats through various online websites where extremist groups openly discuss their plans of action. While it is difficult for law enforcement to weed out the validity of every threat, that hasn't stopped states from taking extra precautions.
Many states are following the nation's Capitol's lead by fortifying their state capitol buildings with fencing and boarded-up windows. Other states, including Michigan, California, Wisconsin, Florida, and North Dakota, have already called upon their National Guard for additional security. States, including Pennsylvania and Texas, have closed their state capitols entirely, while Indiana and Michigan have canceled all legislative proceedings for the week of the inauguration.
Many of the protests were set to start Sunday, but several, including armed protests at the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, where members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were present, were for the most part peaceful with smaller than anticipated turnout.
Although weekend protests have been largely uneventful and peaceful, the threat of violent protests still exists throughout the days leading up to inauguration day.
As far as how right-wing extremist groups are communicating, George Washington University fellow for the Program on Extremism in Washington, J.J. MacNab, explains that these fringe groups have successfully used social media platforms, message boards, and websites to communicate their intentions and logistics in gathering.
“I used to think that Bundy Ranch was the big one, but this was much, much bigger,” MacNab says of the Capitol Hill attack, comparing it to the 2014 standoff between a group of armed men and federal agents. MacNab adds of the online forums leading up to the Capitol attacks, “There’s a lot of chatter. I usually try to downplay these things unless it’s really big, but this was really big."
Public Participation on Inauguration Day
Attesting to the severity of security measures that will be in place for the 20th, local leaders including DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam have come together to issue a joint statement explaining to the public what can be expected on inauguration day. The statement reads in part,
“On January 20, there will be a transition of power, and we will work together, and with our partners in the federal government, to ensure the safety of the National Capital Region. Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the 59th Presidential Inauguration, including last week’s violent insurrection as well as the ongoing and deadly COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking the extraordinary step of encouraging Americans not to come to Washington, DC and to instead participate virtually.”
The presidential inauguration, which is usually attended by thousands of spectators as they are scattered across the National Mall, will be very different this year. Measures to decrease the inauguration size were already put into place because of the pandemic, but after the events of January 6th, streaming the inauguration online and watching it on TV will be the best way (and truly only way) for viewing the days’ already limited events.
