Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has called on the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take additional measures to ensure the security of the capital ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
She called the storming of the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6 “an unprecedented terrorist attack” and listed a number of measures to protect Washington ahead of Biden’s inauguration as head of state on January 20.
“I urge the BIV to adjust its approach to the inauguration in several specific ways and set them out in a letter to the Acting Minister [внутренней безопасности Чеду] Wolfe, “according to a statement posted January 10 on Twitter.
I strongly urge the United States Department of Homeland Security to adjust its approach to the Inauguration in several specific ways, and have outlined them in the following letter to Acting Secretary Wolf. pic.twitter.com/GaxUWfFbxk
– Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 10, 2021
In particular, Bowser asked to extend the already announced special security period from January 11 to 24, and to declare a pre-emergency state in Washington in order to strengthen coordination between federal law enforcement agencies.
In addition, the politician urged the Department of Justice to instruct the FBI to hold daily security briefings until January 24, and the BIF to prohibit any public gatherings during this period.
Earlier that day, it became known that the US federal authorities had prepared a document, according to which it is necessary to strengthen security measures for members of Congress who will arrive at the Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
Joe Biden’s inauguration will take place on January 20. On Friday, January 8, the current US President Donald Trump announced that he would not be attending the event. On the same day, Biden announced the participation of Vice President Mike Pence in the ceremony.
On January 7, the US Congress approved the election of Biden as President of the United States. The day before, during a congressional meeting that was summing up the election results, Trump supporters broke into the Capitol and started riots.
There were clashes with police, during which dozens of people were injured on both sides. five people were killed, including a seriously injured police officer. After the incident, the Democrats called for the removal of Trump from power.