In the wake of an attack on the United States capitol by a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters, authorities have moved to tighten security ahead of the President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural ceremony.
To ward off possible intrusion, they plan to erect a non-scalable temporary fence around the Capitol after pictures of the mob climbing the building’s fence surfaced online.
The Pentagon will deploy more than 5,000 National Guard troops from several states to Washington to stay through the Jan. 20 inauguration, according to a Pentagon official. That comes in addition to 1,100 District of Columbia National Guard troops mobilised to confront the violent mob on Wednesday.
In addition, officials said a 7-foot (2.1 meter) non-scalable fence will be erected around the Capitol and remain in place through the inauguration.
“We’re obviously concerned about the 20th. We’re concerned about the days leading up to the 20th,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said yesterday. “But I think we as Americans have to also ask ourselves, is this going to be a new normal in America?”
The steps on the west side of the Capitol, where Biden will take the oath of office, was the scene of violence Wednesday as thousands of Trump supporters clashed with police trying to hold them back with tear gas, batons, and flash-bang devices.
Hundreds of protesters eventually broke through barricades and occupied scaffolding and other infrastructure already in place for the presidential inauguration. Many chanted and waved Trump flags, and some used the scaffolding to enter the Capitol building itself, where lawmakers were in the midst of an historic vote to certify Biden’s election.
