An indoor inauguration is good news for the Secret Service
The decision to move the Washington ceremony indoors because of the frigid weather could hand the embattled Secret Service a gift in preparing for the high-level security event.
The agency charged with guarding the president will be under the microscope during Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday in the wake of two assassination attempts on the campaign trail.
The decision Friday to move the Washington, D.C., ceremony indoors because of the frigid weather could hand the embattled Secret Service a gift in preparing for the high-level security event.
The agency will pivot from managing a crowd of more than 250,000 ticket holders outside to securing the US Capitol rotunda for a streamlined crowd of elected officials, dignitaries and high-profile guests.
To secure the 96-foot-diameter room, they can turn to elements of the well-tested playbook for annual events such as the State of the Union, usually held nearby in the House chamber.
Securing an indoor, familiar location is likely to make the job easier for physical security, according to Tim Gallagher, former special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The process of moving a smaller guest list through metal scanners will be simpler and it is less complicated to lock down a building instead of dealing with the variables of the outdoors, he said.
Calls to increase the president-elect’s security rose after a gunman shot the president-elect at a rally during the summer and another man pointed a rifle at Trump through a fence where he was playing golf.
The incidents fuelled doubts about whether the Secret Service is capable of protecting him, given the risks of political violence during the election cycle.
After his swearing-in, Trump said Friday he plans to join a viewing party and host a modified version of the traditional inaugural parade at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena across town.
Police on Friday evening said areas outside the US Capitol building initially open to ticketed attendees would be closed under the changed plans.
Details on where the rest of the quarter-million ticket holders may end up remained unclear on Friday evening.
The FBI isn’t currently tracking any credible or specific threats to the inaugural ceremony or the Capitol complex on Monday, according to David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.
At each location, the Capitol and the arena, officials plan to operate under heightened security with an increased law-enforcement presence and layers of physical security including lengthy restricted item lists, and the same extensive security perimeter, according to the Friday afternoon update from US Capitol Police.
All together, officials are planning for 25,000 police, federal law enforcement and military personnel, including Army and Air National Guard units from 40 states, to be part of the security team through Inauguration Day.
Putting the inauguration inside likely means all hands on deck to move to the contingency plan already in place for just such a shift, Gallagher, the former FBI agent, said.
“There’s not a lot of time, but there’s enough,” he said.
Washington already has been on high alert for weeks, and security at the Capitol and other federal buildings was enhanced for the January 6 election certification and President Carter’s state funeral after the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.
Much of the same physical barrier system is expected to remain in place in Washington, DC, to meet a wave of visitors on the streets during inauguration weekend; initial plans included a perimeter of more than 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, according to Matt McCool, Secret Service special agent-in-charge of the Washington field office in a Monday joint news briefing with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and other state and federal law enforcement leaders.
In August, demonstrators were able to dismantle a layer of security fencing making up the perimeter outside the United Centre in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention before police contained the breakthrough. No demonstrators reached the facility.
On Saturday, the largest expected anti-Trump demonstration kicked off when thousands of People’s March attendees walked from three downtown Washington locations toward the Lincoln Memorial. They held signs that spanned the past eight years of Trump-era progressive activism: immigration, climate change, abortion rights, Palestinian flags, and banners mocking Trump and his allies.
It was a far cry from the Women’s March in 2017, which drew over a million people in Washington and around the world and galvanised a record number of women to run for office. While organisers said they expected 50,000 protesters, the city’s police chief put that figure at 25,000.
Marchers made their way past the White House flanked by temporary fencing and a heavy security presence.
Protesters acknowledged that the subdued demonstration lacked the rage and urgency of the same event eight years ago.
One woman held a sign that simply stated, “Screaming Into The Void.”
Trish Karastelev, 18, rode the train down from New Jersey for her first protest. “I remember I was in fifth grade when he was elected president. And even then I could tell – I was shocked – that such a hateful man would be elected,” Karastelev said.
“I can’t imagine women in their 50s having to see this again.”
Some of the activists who participated in the 2017 Women’s March decided to skip this edition. Not Samantha Baker, 33, a member of the Communist Party’s Columbus, Ohio chapter.
“I think it’s fair to feel that way. I understand,” she said. “But it’s not an option to check out.” As marchers moved through the city, cheerful Trump supporters in red MAGA winter hats strolled the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
“We’re making history,” said Ryan Schoelke, 38, who came from Tampa, Fla. “The first felon president!”
On Sunday afternoon, Trump plans to hold a victory rally at the Capital One Arena, now likely a rehearsal for the following day. On Monday, he’s scheduled to attend three inaugural balls.
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