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A heavily armed man was detained in Washington on Friday night, as the federal capital is on high alert before the new president takes office. The suspect, who was carrying a handgun and 500 bullets, presented officers with a false permit to enter the area around the Capitol, where numerous checkpoints are set up and where Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony will take place on Wednesday.
The arrested man is called Wesley allen beeler, is 31 years old and is originally from Virginia. He tried to enter the security zone in a van. When the agents reviewed his documents, they noticed that he had stickers stuck to the windows of the car that said “If they come to take their guns, first give them the bullets. When asked if he had a weapon, the man admitted that he did, and during searches, police found the loaded pistol, as well as many stockpiles of bullets.
According to the American press, his mother was surprised to learn that her son had been arrested. He, who would work for a private security company, had told her that he was going to Washington to secure downtown. His parents say Beeler worked in military aviation and spent the last week on night shifts in Washington. In the past, he allegedly provided security on Saudi Arabian embassy property, and his parents were not surprised to learn that he had weapons in his car.
The man appeared before a judge on Saturday, who issued a restraining order. The suspect is only allowed into Washington to appear at trial.
Washington looks like a fortress under siege
Tension remains high in Washington, DC, with four days before Joe Biden’s inauguration.
During this period, the capital of the United States became a true fortress. The huge security operation was taken over by the Secret Service, and all the major security agencies are involved in it in one way or another. To all this landscape are added the 25,000 National Guard soldiers sent to Washington DC, five times more than the US troops present in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After the Capitol was stormed by Donald Trump supporters on January 6, exceptional protective measures were taken in Washington. Concrete blocks and 10-foot-high barbed wire fences have appeared on the streets of Washington to isolate sensitive areas.
Fear of attacks
Authorities fear new violence at the swearing-in ceremony of US President Joe Biden. Typically every four years, the opening ceremony is an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Americans to travel to the capital, purchase products created especially for this event, bearing the effigy of the president, and see him on the esplanade. The chapter on how you take the oath.
This year, however, the National Mall, the huge esplanade at the foot of the Capitol, will be closed to the public. Only duly accredited persons will be able to enter the area where thousands of soldiers patrol.
The Capitol area has not seen such security measures since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Nothing should be left to chance, and the security services, whether we are talking about the FBI, the Secret Service, or the Department of Homeland Security, have serious reason to be cautious.
“What I do know is that there are some discussions (on social media, ed.) After the events of last week,” said Chad Wolf, a former DHS director.
Specifically, US agencies intercepted various discussions among extremists about the organization of violent protests. So they took action: they installed security filters, barricades, and scanning panels. They erected ten-foot-high fences around the Capitol, mounted barbed wire on some of them, while the National Mall, the famous esplanade between Congress Hall and the Lincoln Memorial, was closed.
The subway no longer stops at the stations in the Capitol area, another measure taken after the violence at the headquarters of Congress. Tight security measures have been taken in all 50 US states for fear of attacks on government buildings.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
