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| A 30-mile-long temporary fence has been erected in Washington as part of a security measure ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration | Photo: Reuters |
Donald Trump will be swinging for the inauguration as a newly elected US President on January 20. For this security officials are on high alert ‘potential target’ for threats in Washington.
A 30-mile (48-kilometer) long and high black temporary fence has been erected. 25,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed. Security checkpoints have been set up for millions of spectators.
Trump will be sworn in on the steps of Capitol Hill, the US Congress building. A parade will then be held towards the White House.
Donald Trump's inauguration comes at a time when Americans have witnessed several attacks in the past few months. Donald Trump was fatally attacked twice during his presidential campaign. In one of the attacks, a bullet fired by a would-be assassin grazed Trump's ear. On New Year's Day, two attacks on ordinary Americans took place. A former US soldier drove a truck into a crowd celebrating New Year's Eve. The attack killed 14 people and injured dozens. On the same day, an active-duty soldier blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside a hotel owned by Trump in Las Vegas and committed suicide.
"We are under massive threat," Matt McCool, the intelligence agency's special agent in charge, said in a news release on Monday.
Donald Trump will be sworn in on the steps of Capitol Hill, facing the Washington Monument, in front of members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the new administration, and millions of people at the inauguration. This is the same place where thousands of Trump supporters vandalized, clashed with police, and forced lawmakers to flee for their lives on January 6, 2021. These actions were carried out because they could not accept defeat in the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
US security officials said they were not aware of any specific, well-planned attacks on the inauguration. But they were concerned about a lone attacker like the New Orleans attacker or two separate attacks last week.
Meanwhile, the US Capitol Police said they had arrested a man trying to set fire to the Capitol.
"The biggest reason we're taking this heightened alert over the next week is because of lone attackers," Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said at a security briefing.
On Monday, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned police nationwide about the risk of attacks similar to the one in New Orleans.
Traffic will be restricted for about two miles (three kilometers) from the White House to Capitol Hill on the outskirts of Washington. The entrances will be blocked with concrete barriers, garbage trucks, and other heavy objects.
A 30-mile-long, 7-foot-high black fence has been erected. It is designed to be unclimbable. 7,800 National Guard troops and 4,000 officers from other police departments across the country will be deployed as security forces.