Inauguration Security: Washington Prepared for Anything

Law enforcement officials in Washington D.C. are ready for any and all threats on Saturday, January 21 when Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States.

The security for the Inauguration will be intense, as 28,000 members of U.S. law enforcement deploy countermeasures to prevent large truck attacks, lone wolf attacks, anti-organization disruptions and more creating a security stronghold made of roadblocks, armored vehicles, and police.

Three thousand police officers from across the nation are expected to show up for duty on the day before the big event and an additional 5,000 members of the National Guard will be deployed. The numbers are roughly the same as those asked to secure the event in years past.

An estimated 700,000 to 900,000 people are expected to be in Washington D.C. to watch Trump become President with 63 demonstration groups, pro and con, expected to arrive as well.

Directory of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy believes that they will have to be prepared for just about anything because people are “more willing to do things they may not have been willing to do in the past.”

For example, bike racks or metal barriers used to act as an invisible shield to keep people out of security zones, but as we saw several times during the presidential campaigns and recent riots in U.S. cities, citizens are no longer put off by metal barricades. It takes no thought at all for people to jump over them or use a vehicle to plow through them.

For the Inauguration, Clancy says there will be a perimeter around the event site with hard and soft portions to let in official vehicles. The perimeter will be built using trucks, dumpsters, buses and similar objects and will be off limits to non-official vehicles. The soft openings will be heavily manned by law enforcement and only authorized vehicles will be allowed to pass through.

The Secret Service has not received any credible threats towards the Inauguration, but they are beefing up security to defend against common threats they’ve seen in the world recently, such as vehicle attacks. The Secret Service believes the perimeter around the event area will help to dissuade someone from using a vehicle in an attack.