Donald Trumpdeclared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia on Monday.
His announcement comes ahead of President-electJoe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
As Biden’s inauguration day gets closer, authorities in Washington, D.C., are preparing for marches and more potential violence after thefailed insurrection attempton Wednesday that left five people dead.
Officials are concerned that there will be more riots when Biden is sworn in as president asright-wing extremists continue calls for violence.
Trump supporters left a flag outside the Capitol on Wednesdsay.Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/Shutterstock
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is encouraging Americans tostay home on January 20in an effort “to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent insurrection experienced at the Capitol and its grounds on Jan. 6.”
Bowser also asked Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to increase security preparations.
The U.S. Secret Service said in astatementMonday that “for well over a year,” the agency has been “working tirelessly to anticipate and prepare for all possible contingencies at every level to ensure a safe and secure Inauguration Day.”
“The safety and security of all those participating in the 59th Presidential Inauguration is of the utmost importance,” the Secret Service said.
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The inauguration was already set to be mostly virtual due to the ongoingnovel coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic, with tickets limited to members of Congress and one guest each,accordingto the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Biden said Monday that despite security concerns, he is “not afraid of taking the oath outside.”
“I think it’s critically important that there be a real serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable,” he told reporters in Newark, Delaware, after receiving his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
President-elect Joe Biden.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
The resolution is expected to be voted on later this week.
source: people.com
