Security official plan for 800,000 to 900,000 attendees for inauguration of Donald Trump
Washington, D.C. – The traditional swearing-in ceremony, parade, and celebrations are planned for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, but security will not be so traditional. Security officials are expecting 800,000 to 900,000 attendees to swarm the streets of the District of Columbia this weekend to participate in the events.
The inaugural parade route is 1.9 miles long, a lot can happen on that 1.9 stretch. Members of U.S. law enforcement will deploy countermeasures to prevent a large truck attack, such as those that killed dozens in France and Berlin last year, from happening during the inauguration of Donald Trump as president. However, Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy and others are convinced attempts to launch other violent and dangerous acts are well within the realm of possibility.
Clancy said the threat environment for this inauguration and the campaign that led up to it is “different” from previous ones. “I think people today are willing to do things they may not have been willing to do in the past,” Clancy said.
The security will be more intense than it has ever been due to the new threats of thousands of protesters, terrorists, cyberattacks, and weaponized drones.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Christopher Caruso from the U.S. Secret Service said, “There is nothing ‘off the shelf’ about the 2017 inauguration security plans.”
Anyone attending the events in Washington, DC this weekend should expect more than 28,000 law enforcement and military personnel involved from the National Guard, U.S. Secret Service, Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police, FBI, Transportation Safety Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The effort will be headquartered at the Multi-Agency Communication Center in Northern Virginia, where dozens of experts from local and federal agencies will monitor the events.
“The global terror environment is very different even from 2013,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. “We have to be concerned about individual acts of violence.”
Johnson said the agencies were “doubling down” to prevent attacks like those in Nice, France, and in Berlin last year, where terrorists drove trucks into crowds of people. Dump trucks, buses, and cement trucks will act as barriers, lining the streets to fortify the “hard perimeter areas,” zones barred to nongovernment vehicles.
Online threats to “shut down” inaugural events have factored into the overall security preparations, Johnson said.
Although terrorists and “lone wolf” extremists are top concerns, security forces are also prepared to handle the high number of protesters expected. Ninety-nine groups have applied for demonstration permits, 10 times the average at past inaugurations, officials said. At least 63 of them are scheduled to demonstrate on Friday, Jan. 20.
“If they are nonviolent, [protesters] will be allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Johnson told reporters.
The U.S. Park Police have already begun to take steps to separate opposing demonstrations and prevent clashes, Park Police Deputy Chief Scott Fear said.
Conflicting protest groups have been placed in different locations on the mall and will be monitored by law enforcement personnel.
Contact Shertina Mack at s.mack@TheBayNet.com