Officials Wednesday said they will secure Washington, D.C., ahead of the election certification and inauguration after over ten permits were filed by organizers of protests. Officials said they learned from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and will implement anticlimb fencing, parking restrictions, and vehicle checkpoints.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department released a statement on the agency’s preparations, saying, “The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is working closely with our local, state, and federal partners as we prepare for the 2025 Inauguration. As with any other events in the District, it is our priority to ensure the safety and security of District residents and visitors.”
The extra security serves to ease the minds of anxious residents and leaders who are nervous about another large-scale attack following the transfer of power this January.
Police staffing has grown to more than 2,200 officers who have been trained with new equipment and technology to prepare for both President-elect Donald Trump supporters as well as people protesting against him. The multiple permits filed for protests and demonstrations have been related to Trump, the Israel-Gaza war, democracy, and reproductive rights.
“We recognize the importance of upholding the First Amendment rights of individuals to peacefully express their views, and we are committed to facilitating lawful demonstrations while maintaining public order,” the MPD spokesperson said.
The statement went on to say there has been no indication of violent activities or large-scale protests, but they encourage vigilance, saying, “If you see something, say something.”
In a Council of the District of Columbia meeting, Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said, “After the events four years ago on January 6, that type of preparedness takes on a heightened level of attention to detail.”
“You probably, like me, are fielding a lot of questions from constituents, both in previous weeks and now after the election, to help make sure that we are prepared, asking more details about that, looking to make sure that the region is prepared,” Allen said.
The Secret Service‘s training grounds in Beltsville, Maryland, have been home to new civil disturbance training operations, with over 1,000 Capitol Police from 16 jurisdictions participating. The agency has focused on expanding units, some designed to analyze intelligence, and has enhanced communication with law enforcement partners.
“There were a lot of intelligence failures four years ago, and to say that those have been resolved and improved and fixed would be an understatement,” said Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger during a meeting with local government leaders. “And we’ve done that, not to just ‘win the last war,’ but we are now prepared for a wide variety of scenarios that we could see in the next few months,” Manger said.
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After an unpredictable and volatile election season, multiple scenarios could present themselves to officers in January. With two assassination attempts against Trump, countless bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, and 8,008 threats made against members of Congress, it’s vital Capitol Police be prepared for anything.
“While we are certainly focused on next January 6 and the inauguration, the threat landscape all over our country requires this kind of vigilance,” he said. “We’ve seen all over the country people trying not only disrupting the government operations but also targeting elected officials, government officials for violence.”