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U.S. closing landmarks, announces vehicle checks in Washington for inauguration


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U.S. closing landmarks, announces vehicle checks in Washington for inauguration

 

2021-01-15T190747Z_1_LYNXMPEH0E1G0_RTROPTP_4_USA-BIDEN-INAUGURATION.JPG

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol is seen through a security fence after the House of Representatives impeached U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nation's capital on Friday continued to boost security by shutting down access to iconic landmarks and erecting vehicle checkpoints at a security perimeter surrounding central Washington ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's Jan. 20. inauguration.

 

Presidential inaugurations are always tightly secure events with operations led by the U.S. Secret Service, but this year's measures have been amped up after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to prevent the final certification of Biden's victory. Law enforcement officials have warned of threats and armed groups in all 50 states.

 

The National Park Service said Friday it was immediately closing the National Mall and iconic U.S. landmarks in Washington to visitors through at least Jan. 21.

 

The Mall includes landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. The area around the White House has also been closed, as has a key bridge over the Potomac River that connects Virginia to Washington, as well as East and West Potomac Parks, including Hains Point, which are near the Mall.

 

"We cannot allow a recurrence of the chaos and illegal activity that the United States and the world witnessed last week," Matthew Miller, the head of the Secret Service's Washington field office, told reporters.

 

Virginia later announced it would close several other bridges connecting the state with the federal district from Jan. 19 to Jan. 21, as part of its agreement with the U.S. Secret Service.

 

Maryland, the other state bordering the nation's capital, declared a state of emergency related to the inauguration.

 

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told CNN that Biden's team had decided to delay the inauguration rehearsal by one day due to "some of the online chatter talks about Sunday the 17th."

 

Still, Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain said in an interview with the Washington Post he was confident that law enforcement officials would be able to secure the inauguration.

 

U.S. officials said they expect the number of National Guard troops to rise to 25,000 in Washington D.C., a number that could still increase even further.

 

In downtown D.C., Metropolitan AME Church, a historic Black church that has hosted historical Black luminaries like educator Booker T. Washington and journalist Ida B. Wells, said it has security plans in place but declined to provide details.

 

"We recognize that some people may be emboldened to focus on communities which have always prioritized justice, so we are cautious of that," a church official said.

 

In the Capitol Hill area, streets that are usually busy and traffic-clogged were largely empty on Friday. Residents were warned that cars within the exclusion zone would have to stay there until after the inauguration.

 

Even before the Jan. 6 siege, the inauguration was expected to be significantly different than previous swearing-in of presidents due to coronavirus concerns. Many of the events that accompany the ceremony will be virtual.

 

"This is not a concession to the terrorists. It is a recognition of the danger of COVID," U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Friday.

 

Washington's Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested to reporters on Friday that, due to the storming of the Capitol by groups of "white extremists," heightened security measures in the district could remain in effect until well after Inauguration Day.

 

"We are going to go back to a new normal," Bowser said. "We certainly have to think about a new posture in the city. So while we are focused on January the 20th, we are also focused on January the 21st and every day thereafter in the nation's capital."

 

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Idrees Ali, Lisa Lambert, Joel Schectman, Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and David Lawder in Washington; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-16
 
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In case folks need a reminder, this is what Trump and his followers' insurrection was about:

 

‘He means to kidnap...perhaps execute members of the U.S. government’: Air Force veteran charged in U.S. Capitol siege

 

A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel brought zip-tie handcuffs into the halls of Congress last week “to take hostages” and “perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” a federal prosecutor said in a Texas court on Thursday.

 

Retired Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock Jr., 53, was arrested on Sunday in Texas after being identified as the man photographed on the Senate floor wearing a helmet and vest, and carrying the plastic cuffs. Brock was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds.

...

“He means to take hostages. He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer said of Brock’s intentions during the deadly riot.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/he-means-to-kidnapperhaps-execute-members-of-the-us-government-air-force-veteran-charged-in-us-capitol-siege/ar-BB1cN670?ocid=mailsignout

 

AND

 

Capitol Rioters Intent 'Was to Capture and Assassinate Elected Officials,' Prosecutors Say

 

"Prosecutors have said those who stormed the Capitol last week intended to "capture and assassinate" elected officials while arguing that the so-called "QAnon Shaman" should not be released from custody ahead of his trial.

 

Jake Angeli, 33, of Arizona, is scheduled to appear in court Friday after being charged with being part of the mob who attacked the Capitol on January 6. Angeli, real name Jacob Anthony Chansley, was one of the most prominent people seen inside Congress during the insurrection due to his striking fur hat, horns and face paint.

...

Court documents filed by the attorneys state there is strong evidence, including from Angeli's own words and actions at the Capitol, that the intent of those who stormed the capitol "was to capture and assassinate elected officials" in government.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/capitol-assassinate-qanon-shaman-jake-angeli-1561872

 

 

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1 hour ago, earlinclaifornia said:

CNN and Pelosi are the two most inspiring person's and News network in America. You have an issue with reality and seem to be a struggling trump supporter. Like most of us the idea of being the LOSER is difficult at best

Pence calls VP-elect Kamala Harris to offer congratulations

https://news.yahoo.com/mike-pence-calls-kamala-harris-184227937.html

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14 minutes ago, scorecard said:

"...Look at the stimulus bill.  The Democrats held that up potentially hurting the U.S. economy because they didn't want something that might potentially help Trump."

 

Many other folks see a very different analysis.  

Noticed the Black woman is held up as her success is glaring. Sad times.

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4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yes the incoming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kalama Harris must be well protected from the white nationalist pro-trump terrorist insurrectionists that recently attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt at a self coup which would have destroyed American democracy. It's a sad reality of these current times, but the blame is entirely on the disgraced exiting Mr. trump and his more fanatical true believer (of his vile lies) followers.

This also isn't a great advertisement for the American education system. The crime of patriotism ''thank you for your service'' and rah rah rah for the red white and blue (also noticeable in the UK but not so extreme, at least we don't have the laughable practice whereby every house has a national flag planted outside the house). The Thai educational system which lacks support of critical thinking is often rebuked on TV but this seems to be the case in the USA as well (I don't know first hand but it would seem you have a problem in the 'land of the free' if you are too discerning)

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3 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

And now any readers of this ... continue to the next comment for the rest of the story which shows this post as sadly prejudiced due to a lack of critical thinking resulting in a balanced approach toward seeking fact.

You must be a Biden Speechwriter for what you just uttered is complete undecipherable. 

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