Washington ramps up security for Trump’s inauguration

WASHINGTON: With endless perimeter fencing, all-seeing drones and some 25,000 security personnel, the US capital is preparing for Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in an unprecedented protective posture after an election cycle marked by violence.

Washington is used to high-profile, high-risk happenings, but rarely so many in such quick succession.

Monday’s presidential inauguration will be the third top-level “national special security event” in just two weeks, following the election certification on Jan 6 and former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral.

The city is prepping for fewer visitors on Jan 20 than Trump’s first inaugural eight years ago – when authorities anticipated up to a million guests.

Nevertheless, a record 30 miles (48km) of anti-scale fencing is being erected around the security perimeter.

The White House, Capitol, and parts of the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route are already ringed by the eight-foot (2.4m) metal barriers.

Around 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel are converging on Washington, according to US Secret Service special agent Matt McCool.

“We have a slightly more robust security plan” than previous years, he told a briefing Monday, saying attendees would experience extensive security checks and see snipers on rooftops, tactical teams on the ground, and drones patrolling the skies.

“What’s different is, we are in a higher threat environment,” he said.

Violence marred last year’s presidential race, with Trump narrowly surviving a July assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania rally. One person in the audience was killed.

Two months later an apparent gunman was discovered at a golf club in Florida while Trump was on the course. The incidents were seen as major operational failures by the Secret Service.

On Jan 1 two more deadly episodes – a truck ramming in New Orleans and a Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas – set Americans on edge.

McCool said “a full slate of visible and invisible security measures” were blanketing Washington for Trump’s big day.

According to US Capitol Police chief J Thomas Manger, about 250,000 ticketed guests will gather for the inauguration.

Authorities said there were currently no known credible threats to the ceremony.

“The biggest threat I think for all of us remains the lone actor,” Manger said.

‘Peaceful transition’ 

Trump has had a contentious relationship with Washington’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, but this week she pledged no effort was being spared.

“Every four years our city supports the peaceful transition of power. We are proud of that responsibility,” she told reporters.

Thousands of demonstrators however will be on hand, including during a Saturday “People’s March” to the Lincoln Memorial.

Eight years ago hundreds of thousands marched in a similar demonstration, but Trump’s latest win appears to have deflated the #Resistance movement, and authorities said up to 25,000 people are expected Saturday.

Sunday will see thousands of MAGA faithful pack a downtown arena for a rally featuring Trump himself.

Then on Inauguration Day, multiple smaller protests are scheduled.

Police will ensure people can “peacefully protest and assemble,” Bowser said, but “violence, destruction and unlawful behaviour will not be tolerated.”

For those venturing outside to watch Trump take the oath, it will be a frigid affair: the forecast is for temperatures well below freezing throughout Inauguration Day.

Trump supporters are filling the city’s hotel rooms – although not to the level of his or Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

As of last week, downtown Washington occupancy rates for Inauguration eve were at 70%, lower for the moment than the 92-percent occupancy for Trump’s 2017 inauguration, data firm STR says.

Several hotels have unveiled elite inauguration packages, including the famous Watergate, whose “Head of State” package starts at US$73,500.

It includes helicopter service, a chauffeured armoured Maybach, accommodation in the Watergate’s Presidential Suite, and a tour of the “Scandal Suite” where the infamous 1972 break-in occurred.