WASHINGTON: Braced for demonstrations by 99 groups and a new “global terrorist environment,” security officials plan to protect the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump with buses, dump trucks and heavy vehicles loaded with cement to thwart anyone who might try to plow vehicles through the crowds.
“We know of no specific credible threat directed toward the inauguration,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday. But he said the lack of a threat “is only part of the story.”
With memories fresh of vehicle attacks in France and Germany, the Secret Service will lead a security force of 28,000 to protect a crowd that could reach 900,000 on Inauguration Day, Johnson said.
Perhaps most visible will be large vehicles that will be used to seal the perimeter of the National Mall, which Johnson described as “more fortified” than usual.
“That is a precaution that we are doubling down on in particular this inauguration,” he said.
The security force will include 10,000 personnel from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and other federal agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Park Police, U.S. Capitol Police, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Protective Service.
More than 3,200 police officers from across the country have volunteered to help.
And 44 states, along with the District of Columbia, will deploy more than 7,500 National Guard soldiers and airmen to help with security.
Security will be especially tight after one of the most bitterly fought elections in history and a possible weekend crowd that could exceed 1 million for the inauguration and protests, including the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21 that promises to dwarf attendance at the inauguration itself.
“While we’re prepared for any rise in tensions, we’re entering the inauguration with the mindset that this will be another peaceful transfer of power,” said D.C. National Guard Maj. Michael Odle.
While freezing weather has complicated previous inaugurations, the early forecast for Trump’s big day calls for temperatures in the 50s.
Johnson said federal officials used social media and permit applications to identify 99 groups — “some pro, and some con” — that are expected to protest over three days; 63 of those protests are planned for Inauguration Day.
The inaugural festivities are to begin Thursday with a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony and a “welcome concert” at the Lincoln Memorial, and they’ll conclude Saturday with a national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.