With 30 miles (48 km) of tall black fencing, 25,000 security personnel, and checkpoints to screen hundreds of thousands of attendees, Washington is preparing for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.
The ceremony, set for Monday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, will include a parade to the White House and coincide with a weekend of protests by Trump’s critics as well as celebrations by his supporters.
The heightened security comes after a contentious campaign that saw two assassination attempts on Trump, including one where a bullet grazed his ear. Additionally, two violent New Year’s Day attacks left 14 dead and many injured: a U.S. Army veteran drove a truck into a New Orleans crowd, and an active-duty soldier detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump-branded hotel in Las Vegas, killing himself.
“We are in a higher-threat environment,” said Matt McCool, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, during a Monday briefing.
The inauguration will take place on the Capitol steps facing the Washington Monument, the same location where, on January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump’s opponent in the 2024 election, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, conceded defeat after the November 5 contest. This stands in contrast to Trump, who continues to claim without evidence that his 2020 loss was due to fraud.
Lone Wolf Concerns
While officials have identified no coordinated threats to the inauguration, they are most concerned about lone-wolf attackers, such as the perpetrator of the New Orleans attack. Recent incidents have also heightened fears, including the arrest of a man carrying a machete near the Capitol and another attempting to start a fire nearby.
“The lone actor threat remains the primary reason for our heightened alert throughout the week,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have warned police nationwide of potential copycat attacks inspired by the New Orleans incident.
A significant portion of downtown Washington, covering about 2 miles (3 km) from the White House to the Capitol, will be closed to vehicles. Concrete barriers, garbage trucks, and other heavy objects will block entry points.
The 30 miles of 7-foot (2-meter) unclimbable fencing, the longest ever erected in the city, will surround the area. Security forces include 7,800 National Guard troops and 4,000 officers from police departments across the country.
While some Washington residents—90% of whom voted for Harris—plan to leave the city or stay home to avoid disruptions, tens of thousands of visitors are expected for both celebrations and protests.
As of last week, 70% of the city’s 34,500 hotel rooms were booked for the inauguration weekend, compared to 95% during Trump’s 2017 inauguration and 78% for President Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
Protests and Celebrations
Trump’s 2017 inauguration saw widespread protests and counter-protests. His then-spokesman Sean Spicer sparked controversy by claiming, despite photographic evidence, that the crowd was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration—period.”
The following day, the Women’s March brought hundreds of thousands to Washington’s streets, with even more attending solidarity events across the country.
This year, a smaller turnout of 25,000 is expected for the anti-Trump People’s March on Saturday, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith. Nearly a dozen other permitted protests and rallies will take place from Saturday through Monday, including a Trump rally at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Juliette Kayyem, a Harvard professor and former homeland security official, said officials are preparing for worst-case scenarios but emphasized that such plans are typically scaled back if no major incidents arise.
“It’s always better to plan for the worst and scale down as needed,” Kayyem said, adding, “In this case, that’s a good sign.”
