Washington – Anticipating further disturbances in the race for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, District Mayor of Columbia Muriel Bowser said on Sunday that he is asking the federal government for additional security preparations to ensure the security of the event and the District .
In an interview with “Face the Nation”, Bowser said this year’s opening has to be unlike any other in the country’s history.
“I am asking the United States Department of Homeland Security to take additional measures, including expanding the duration of this special national security event,” said Bowser. “In addition, I am asking them to extend the perimeter of their coverage area for this special national security event, which is the inauguration, to include the Capitol.”
Bowser said he will also send Trump a letter requesting a pre-disaster emergency declaration for the District of Columbia before the inauguration, which will allow for additional federal coordination.
In it Letter for acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Bowser asked the agency to extend the “special national security event period” from 11 to 24 January. It is currently set for a period from 19 to 21 January.
The attack on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, in which a pro-Trump crowd managed to get past the Capitol Police and through security barriers to break into the Capitol building, led to outrage at the lack of preparation to respond to the crowd. The attack on the Capitol caused lawmakers to flee the House and Senate chambers, and Vice President Mike Pence was removed from the Senate floor, where he was watching the debate over Arizona’s election results. Five people died in the confusion.
Before the January 6 protest, Bowser requested support from the DC National Guard, and the Pentagon activated 340 members. After the attack on the Capitol, a total of 6,200 National Guard members from six states in the Northeast were activated until after their inauguration to help law enforcement in Washington.
Federal prosecutors announced charges against at least 17 people, while dozens of others were charged in high court for their actions in the attack on the Capitol. Law enforcement is in the process of identifying those involved.
Bowser said that some of the Trump supporters seen attacking the Capitol building appeared to have had formal training.
“What we have seen is real domestic terrorism in the capital of our country, and that is what we need to call it,” she said. “Those we saw attacking the Capitol building were people trained in many cases, ex-military, ex-police. I think we can find other trained people, trained to march and attack buildings. So we have to take this seriously. ”