WASHINGTON — Officials have ramped up security around the Capitol to levels not seen in months before President Biden’s State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday, as lawmakers braced for planned convoys of protesting truck drivers descending on Washington. .
With the pro-Trump violence of a year ago still fresh in their minds and lawmakers facing a wave of threats, officials have erected a fence around the Capitol, dispatched National Guard troops and placed military vehicles and police cars in strategic locations. in streets near Congress. The US Capitol Police said they would close 18 different stretches of roads in Washington to motorists.
“We are ready to take swift law enforcement action if necessary for violations of our local and federal laws,” Robert J. Contee III, the chief of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference Monday, where he was flanked by Mayor Muriel Bowser and federal law enforcement officers. He promised more staff and “improved” security in the city.
The security fence was erected in January last year after a mob of supporters of former President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol, but was removed in July, reopening public access to the complex. It was briefly restored in September in preparation for a right-wing rally in support of those arrested in connection with the January 6 attack.
A convoy of truck drivers headed to Washington to protest vaccine mandates has raised the alarm again.
A Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin, obtained by DailyExpertNews, said the caravans “would likely pose a public safety challenge to first responders if the convoys are of significant size” and warned that some domestic extremists are “probably headed for the event will be drawn and could engage in premeditated or opportunistic violence.”
At Tuesday’s press conference, Sean Gallagher, the acting assistant chief of the Capitol Police, said the fencing was temporary and was placed out of an “abundance of caution.” He suggested that it would be removed shortly after Mr Biden’s speech if no security concerns arose.
The State of the Union always draws intense security, as it puts members of all three government powers — the president and his cabinet, members of the House and Senate, and Supreme Court justices — together in the same chamber. But security officials said they were especially vigilant this year.
Despite warnings from an organizer that “tens of thousands” of truck drivers would converge on the country’s capitol, it was unclear whether the convoys of truck drivers protesting Covid-19 mandates would actually take place or when they might arrive, officials said.
“Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know,” Chief Contee said of when the protesters might arrive, adding: “While we expect the best, we always plan for the worst. So we have resources deployed — very well coordinated with all of our federal partners here – to make sure we have a safe State of the Union and a peaceful First Amendment meeting no matter what day it comes.”
The Aftermath of Capitol Riot: Key Developments
The first test. Guy Wesley Reffitt, accused of obstructing the work of Congress on Jan. 6, will become the first defendant to face charges in a case arising out of the Capitol riots. The trial, which starts on February 28, will set the tone for dozens of other cases.
The National Guard, which sent thousands of soldiers to the Capitol after January 6 through May last year, has again sent troops into the city in recent days.
The Department of Defense authorized about 400 unarmed members of the District of Columbia National Guard and 50 large tactical vehicles to be placed at designated traffic posts 24 hours before Mr. Biden’s speech. The department also authorized up to 300 members of the National Guard from outside Washington to assist with designated traffic posts and selecting entry points to the Capitol. The Philadelphia Police Department has also provided officers to assist with security.
Despite the increased security, the Chamber of the House will provide a more normal backdrop for Mr Biden than last year’s speech, which was delivered under tight pandemic restrictions. Citing a decline in coronavirus cases in Washington, Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Capitol attending physician, said masks would no longer be necessary in the House, making the practice optional for the first time in more than a year, regardless of vaccination status. year.
There are still some restrictions: There will be virtual guests rather than in person, as the home’s gallery overlooking the floor will be used to seat lawmakers and keep them socially distancing, according to a memo issued by William J. Walker, the house-at-arms sergeant, and there will be health screenings on coronavirus. Lawmakers, staff and reporters must also be able to show evidence of a negative coronavirus test taken a day before the event.
And rather than turn Statuary Hall into a frenzy of lights and cameras ready to capture responses to the speech, those cameras will be set up in office buildings and elsewhere in the Capitol to capture lawmakers eager to respond to the president’s comments.
John Ismay reporting contributed.
