Mass Security Phalanx Aims To Protect Biden’s Inauguration From Mafia And ‘Lone Wolf’ Threats

FILE PHOTO: Barbed wire is seen in a fence around the United States Capitol prior to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, United States, on January 17, 2021. REUTERS / Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON – Washington braced for a tense inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday, amid overwhelming security measures including more than 25,000 National Guard soldiers and a closed National Mall with no spectators for the quadrennial ritual.

Security analysts said the unprecedented precautions would protect Biden’s oath of office at 12:00 noon EST (1700 GMT) from a planned major assault, such as the mob that attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, leaving five dead.

Few signs have emerged of an organized plot to disrupt the inauguration, security experts say, but the threat of “lone wolf” attacks, or violence carried out by radicalized individuals, remained a concern, particularly in state capitals. .

Dennis Pluchinsky, a former State Department terrorism analyst, said some right-wing protesters may rally outside of Washington’s fenced-in central security zone or cause violence there, in an attempt to tarnish Biden’s message of unifying the nation.

But your interruption shouldn’t spoil the ceremony. “There is nothing they can do to hurt Biden. I think all they are trying to do is raise their flag and poison the inauguration, “said Pluchinsky, who is publishing a four-volume story on anti-American extremism.

Pentagon and FBI officials are checking participating troops to thwart any internal attacks.

On Tuesday, Pentagon officials said a dozen members of the National Guard had been removed from their inauguration duties after an investigation that included detecting possible links to right-wing extremism and concerning text messages.

Flags, not people

Officials have left little to chance this year. Bridges between Virginia and central Washington have been closed, as have subway stations in the central security area, which some residents have compared to the fortress-like Green Zone in central Baghdad in Iraq.

Some intercity bus services have been suspended, as have many bike-share stations and Amtrak trains going south from Union Station, which pass through a tunnel east of the Capitol.

Thousands of small American and state flags were placed on the National Mall, instead of the hundreds of thousands of people who gathered at past openings to watch the proceedings on large-screen televisions.

With opening balls and other parties previously canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event has taken on a somber tone in Washington.

The number of troops in Washington is three times the normal number of National Guard troops, said Major General William Walker, commander of the DC National Guard.

“We are taking no chances,” Walker told NBC. “It is only to ensure the peaceful transition of presidential power.”

Additionally, some 2,300 law enforcement officials from across the United States have been sworn in as special deputy U.S. marshals, supporting the general security operation led by the United States Secret Service.

Actions by Twitter and Facebook to suspend accounts calling for violence have led organizing activity to unmoderated channels such as 8kun, said Daniel Jones, president of Advance Democracy, a nonprofit group that conducts public interest investigations and investigations.

“The promotion of violence on these fringe channels is explicit and includes instructions on weapon modifications and combat techniques,” Jones said. “The FBI appears to be taking these threats seriously, but disciplined lone wolf actors, regardless of their ideology, are extremely difficult to track down.”

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