| USA TODAY
Nearly 200,000 state and territorial flags planted on the National Mall
Nearly 200,000 state and territorial flags were planted on the National Mall before President-elect Joe Biden took office.
USA TODAY, Storyful
Inauguration Day festivities for President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday will take place today under sunny skies and a backdrop of heavy security as the nation’s capital prepares for a smaller than ever crowd, limited by police restrictions and COVID-19.
About 25,000 members of the National Guard arrived in the city already covered in state and local police and wounded in the deadly riot at the US Capitol two weeks ago. Concrete barriers, wire fences and military trucks blocked access to many downtown streets and buildings for days.
“Violence and senseless criminal conduct are not the right way to resolve differences or bring about change in our country,” said acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen in a statement. “Anyone who does this will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Visibly absent from the silent festivities will be President Donald Trump, still clinging to his discredited claims that the election was stolen. Trump last left the White House as president on Wednesday, bound for Marine One, Andrews Joint Base and then his Florida home.
“It was a great honor, the honor of a lifetime,” he said.
Vice President Mike Pence, who officially closed the book on Trump’s statements by approving the Electoral College’s unbalanced vote hours after the riot, was scheduled to attend.
“The world will witness our determined democracy,” tweeted the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Watch Biden’s inauguration here:
News you should know:
- Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to attend the opening. President Donald Trump does not.
- The bridges to Washington are closed until Thursday, according to the Secret Service. More than a dozen metro stations will be closed until Thursday.
- The “Field of Flags” exhibition outside the Capitol includes 191,500 United States flags of various sizes, including flags representing all states and territories. In a nod to the pandemic, the Inaugural Committee said that the exhibition represents a “commitment to an inclusive and safe event that everyone can enjoy in their homes”.
- Capitol riot arrests: see who was charged in the U.S.
President Donald Trump was to spend his last minutes in office at his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Trump is expected to be at the Palm Beach club, which he dubbed the “Winter White House”, when the clock strikes midday, ending a contentious presidential term that will end with a final military farewell at Andrews Joint Base. Except for a change in schedule, the White House invited hundreds of supporters to a ceremony of pomp and circumstance at the air base, one with a red carpet and military military guard – and perhaps a preview of another Trump presidential race in 2024.
“As I prepare to hand over power to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is just beginning,” Trump said in a “farewell speech” recorded on Tuesday.
– David Jackson
Before dawn on Wednesday, the country’s capital, heavily protected, woke up to a cold rain. Residents, runners and dog walkers appeared to be the only civilians navigating the roads blocked by barricades, three-meter fences and security checkpoints. Only members of the news media have constantly made their way to the National Mall, which has become an armed camp. At a checkpoint, police said only six checks were made before 6:30 am.
– Josh Rivera and N’dea Yancey-Bragg
On a normal inauguration day, Washington is filled with protesters for causes of all shapes and sizes. But strict security restrictions have discouraged this activity. The DC Action Lab, an organization that helps other groups navigate the complicated licensing process, has secured a space at Union Station’s Columbus Circle for a protest that will be largely virtual, reports the Washington Post. A giant screen will project speeches and videos for the Party of Working Families, calling on President-elect Joe Biden to enact “more progressive policies” under the Park Service license.
Twelve National Guard soldiers were removed from their security duties at the Capitol after questionable behavior was detected in their past during security screening, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, head of the National Guard Office, said on Tuesday. Two from that group made inappropriate comments or texts about the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. But not all 12 have ties to extremist groups, he said.
“We are not taking any chances,” said Hoffman, who characterized the comments made by the two as inappropriate texts.
Of the 12, 10 were identified by the FBI in security screening, said Hokanson. Another was signaled by commanders and the last was identified by an anonymous informant.
– Tom Vanden Brook and Jorge Ortiz
Three ex-US military personnel are the first people to be accused of planning the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The FBI said Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Virginia, appeared to be the leader of a group that included Jessica Watkins, 38, and Donovan Crowl, 50, both residents of Champaign County, Ohio. Caldwell served in the Navy, Watkins in the Army and Crowl in the Navy.
All three are linked to paramilitary activity and have been charged with conspiracy and other federal charges, the first of more than 125 people arrested in connection with the deadly riot to face charges of conspiracy.
The court documents presented on Tuesday reveal some ideas about the planning and coordination behind the attack, as well as the exchange of messages between the defendants and others. Some of the messages referred to legislators on the Capitol as “traitors” and called for “night hunting”.
A Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested on Tuesday for making “written threats to kill, cause bodily injury or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism” related to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, he said. the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Peter Heneen, 29, was communicating with another MP on the night of January 6, talking about the riot through a private Facebook messenger, according to the sheriff’s office. The other deputy reported Heneen’s threats to his commander.
“I’m really angry,” Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County said during a news conference. “Having him arrested was important. Sending him in jail before the inauguration day was even more important ”.
– Kimberly C. Moore, The Ledger
A self-proclaimed white supremacist was using a GPS-enabled monitoring device under the terms of his probation when he joined the crowd of Trump supporters who invaded the U.S. Capitol, according to a court case that accompanied his arrest. Investigators used the monitoring device to track Bryan Betancur’s movements on the day of the deadly insurrection. His parole officer in Maryland called the FBI to report that Betancur had claimed to have been inside the Capitol building with protesters.
Betancur told investigators that he was a member of several white supremacist groups and expressed a desire to be a “lone wolf killer,” wrote an FBI agent in a sworn statement.
A South Carolina man who denied being involved in the Capitol riot is facing charges after a tracking app on his phone put him on the scene. A witness called the FBI on the day of the January 6 riot and said he had knowledge and photos of Andrew Hatley inside the Capitol, the complaint said. The complaint includes a Facebook post, since withdrawal, in which Hatley says: “It came to my attention that there was someone who looked like me at Capitol. I would like to clear things up. I don’t have that kind of motivation for lost causes.” The FBI says it obtained Hatley’s phone number and verified Hatley’s whereabouts on January 6 through the location tracking application “Life360”, the complaint said.
Hatley is accused of intentionally entering a restricted building without legal authority, intentionally preventing government business, engaging in disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds and demonstrating or picketing the Capitol buildings.
– Daniel J. Gross, Greenville News