The National Guard Called In

About a week and a half ago, the U.S. Capitol building was stormed.  In only a few days, Joe Biden’s Inauguration will be held.  The National Guard has been called in in Washington, D.C. as well as other parts of the country. 

To begin with, the Inauguration will look different from other years simply due to the pandemic.  There will only be around 1,000 allowed to attend, a much smaller number than the past inaugurations.  This will allow each member of Congress to attend and they will be allowed one guest each. “Biden has indicated that the inauguration will likely emulate aspects of this year’s Democratic National Committee, which was held nearly entirely virtually” (Wtop).  There will also not be a physical parade.  It will be a virtual parade instead (Wtop).

As of yesterday, 25,000 National Guard members will be in the Washington, D.C. area during the Inauguration.  The National Guard will assist Capitol security.  Along with that, there have been plans for armed protests at every state capitol over the next few days and states have taken precautions (CNN).

Security is at an all time high across the board leading up to Wednesday’s Inauguration.  “Law enforcement is using a huge amount of surveillance, including monitoring phones and other communications, in an all-out effort to track individuals to ensure they do not travel to Washington, according to law enforcement officials” (CNN).

A decent amount of states have decided the National Guard is necessary at their Capitols as well.  California, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and North Carolina are a few states that have elected to bring in the National Guard.  Kentucky, Texas, and Virginia are all planning on closing their Capitol areas.  Different areas of the country are also reinforcing buildings as an extra security measure (Kwong).  

There is no need for violence.  

Friedell, Dan, and Jose Umana. “FAQs: 2021 Inauguration Plans after Capitol Riot, amid Pandemic.” WTOP, 15 Jan. 2021, wtop.com/inauguration/2021/01/faq-what-are-the-current-plans-for-the-2021-inauguration/.

Kwong, Jessica. “10 States Deploy Troops & 3 SHUT Capitols as US Braces for Inauguration Unrest.” The Sun, The Sun, 16 Jan. 2021, http://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13760084/biden-inauguration-ten-states-national-guard-shut-capitols/.

Liebermann, Oren, et al. “Pentagon Authorizes 25,000 National Guard Members for Inauguration.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 Jan. 2021, http://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/politics/pentagon-national-guard-inauguration/index.html.