Washington State Patrol and Washington National Guard personnel stand guard at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, Wash. on Jan. 17, 2021.
Ahead of Biden’s inauguration, Washington has set up a heavy military presence as if it were a war zone. In addition to the 20,000-strong National Guard standing by, the Capitol was surrounded by a high barbed wire fence, concrete barricades were erected on the surrounding streets, and military vehicles were placed across the road to keep a lookout. And a number of other security plans for Biden’s 20th inauguration day have also been revealed.
On the eve of Biden’s inauguration day, Washington, D.C., was highly militarized. Live pictures and videos showed fences with spiral wire, barricades, security checkpoints, and about 25,000 heavily armed National Guard soldiers. These sights that would have been seen in a war zone have now made their way to the heart of Washington, D.C.
Washington National Guard personnel stand guard in front of the Washington State Capitol on Jan. 17, 2021, in Olympia, Wash.
But that’s only part of the measures being taken in preparation for Biden’s inauguration on the 20th.
Over the past few days, Washington, D.C., has begun to step up deployments and upgrade security measures.
J. Michael Waller, a founding editorial board member of NATO’s Defense Strategic Communications magazine, tweeted, “Washington is currently deploying combat troops at a greater density than those deployed in Afghanistan. Truck after truck carrying heavy concrete roadblocks into Washington. This is a sight I have not seen even in Afghanistan.”
US NEWS (US News) also said more than 20,000 National Guard troops were standing by to assist with security for the Jan. 20 inauguration, and they were allowed to use lethal weapons. This marks a dramatic escalation in the way the authority responded to the violence that occurred.
A U.S. defense official confirmed that the request to authorize the Guard to use deadly force, which came from federal authorities and was approved by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, had razor wire fences erected around the Capitol and Supreme Court, large swaths of the capital were closed to traffic and many subway stations downtown were completely shut down.
Security has been tightened around the Capitol.
Washington, D.C., is in danger
The Washington Monument, the highest landmark in Washington, D.C., and its public walkways are closed from the 11th to the 24th, and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the presidential inauguration could have been observed, is closed from the 15th to the 20th.
The Airbnb website cancelled all reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the inauguration, and only security personnel were allowed to stay. Delta Air Lines also announced that passengers departing to Washington, D.C. on the 13th will not be allowed to check in firearms, and only law enforcement officers will be exempted.
The House Oversight Committee sent letters to 27 transportation and lodging companies (from car rentals to hotels and travel companies) on the 15th, urging them to implement “review measures” to ensure security during the inauguration.
The Voice of America reported that Biden’s scheduled train ride from Wilmington to Washington, D.C., on the 17th was also canceled. But it was not clear how Biden would get to the inauguration site in Washington.
According to the report, Biden’s transition team hired Lisa Monaco, a homeland security adviser in the Obama administration, as an interim adviser in charge of security for the inauguration. Monaco was also nominated as deputy attorney general.
President Trump declared a state of emergency in Washington last week to ensure security during the presidential inauguration on the 20th. At the same time, Trump also issued a statement calling on people to refrain from violent demonstrations.
Members of the National Guard are pictured patrolling Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2021.
Multiple security plans for Biden’s inauguration
On January 18, Epoch Times reported on several detailed security plans for Washington, D.C. regarding Biden’s inauguration.
First, the Secret Service will lead specific security matters
The presidential inauguration has been designated a “National Special Security Event” (NSSE), indicating that the Secret Service will be the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating security for the event.
Matt Miller, a Secret Service agent, said the city has extended the special designation for security from Jan. 13 through the day after the presidential inauguration, which is Jan. 21.
The U.S. military confirmed that up to 25,000 National Guard troops from all 50 states, three territories and Washington will be stationed in Washington, D.C., next week, an increase of 5,000 from the number announced earlier in the week.
The Pentagon said on the 15th that the number of guardsmen assigned to Washington exceeds the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has been reduced to 2,500.
In addition to the Capitol Police, thousands of local law enforcement officers from different states will provide backup to D.C. police, and hundreds of FBI agents are expected to be on the scene.
“Maryann Tierney, regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the agency has also deployed manpower to Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia.
Ambulances will be on standby near the Capitol, and food and water will be delivered to the area if needed.
According to a statement from the National Guard in Washington, D.C., National Guard members were given armed authorization on the 12th to support law enforcement efforts at the Capitol and in Washington, D.C.
National Guard soldiers are stationed at the Capitol.
Two, travel will be impeded
As part of the 2021 Presidential Inaugural Subcommittee Transportation Plan, Washington, D.C., has been divided into green and red zones. The U.S. Secret Service has posted on its website a list of all street closures, many of which began at 6 a.m. on Jan. 16 and are scheduled to be lifted at 6 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Some bridges and interstate highways through Washington, D.C., are also scheduled to close at 6 a.m. on Jan. 19.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the city’s Metro is closing 13 stations and blocking four major bridges. Transportation lines, including trains and buses, will be suspended and large swaths of the Capitol and its surrounding streets will be closed.
Bowser urged the American people to stay home on the 20th and watch Biden’s inauguration by video.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also stepped up security measures ahead of the inauguration, with TSA Administrator David Pekoske saying in a statement that the agency is currently working with law enforcement agencies on a list of hundreds of people with potential security risks as part of a risk assessment.
The agency will also add additional security measures at three airports in Washington, D.C.
National Guard soldiers sleep on the Capitol floor.
Third, civil liberties are at risk
The highly militarized measures taken in Washington, D.C., ahead of Biden’s inauguration are designed to prevent a repeat of the violence at the Capitol on the 6th. But critics say this overreaction by the administration threatens a quick loss of civil liberties.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized the way authorities responded to the Jan. 6 incident at the Capitol, noting that individual civil liberties can be lost “very quickly” in times of crisis.
Paul said that members of Congress are also being checked for sharpie pens. It’s getting ridiculous. “So we’ll see what happens, and whether it’s permanent. Most people who articulate 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.”
Paul also said there is a “danger of overreaction” to the current security deployment. Once Americans lose their civil liberties, it’s hard to get them back. Because once the government gets big, it never wants to give it up, “we have to resist this.”
Christina Bobb, host of the One America Network (OAN) program, tweeted that “the blockade of Washington is unconstitutional and a blatant attempt to normalize the use of dictatorial powers… …This move makes DC look like East Berlin.”
Ms. Zeng Zheng, a self-publisher, tweeted, “Congress turned into a prison, just to put on a full show. You guys just pretend.” A video she attached, posted by a CBS reporter, shows barbed wire added to the fence near the Capitol. The Capitol can only be seen through a row of tall black fences.
Chinese scholar Gobi Dong commented in a tweet that it still feels insecure with more than 20,000 soldiers protecting it. The word “president” has become one of the most ridiculous terms in the world, from the current President Trump, who is blocked by all the media, to the frightened “president” to be, Joe Biden.
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