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| USA TODAY
Nearly 200,000 state and territory flags planted on the National Mall
Nearly 200,000 state and territory flags were planted on the National Mall ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
USA TODAY, Storyful
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration day festivities on Wednesday will take place today under sunny skies and against a backdrop of strong security as the nation’s capital braces for a smaller crowd than ever limited by the constraints of law enforcement and COVID-19.
About 25,000 members of the National Guard have descended on the city, already blanketed in state and local law enforcement personnel and cracked down by the deadly riot on the United States Capitol two weeks ago. Concrete barriers, chain link fences and military trucks blocked access to many downtown streets and buildings for days.
“Violence and mindless criminal conduct are not the right way to resolve disputes or promote change in our country,” Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement. “Anyone who does this will be arrested and prosecuted.”
President Donald Trump will be conspicuously absent from the muted festivities, still hanging on to his discredited claims that the election was stolen. Trump last left the White House as president early Wednesday, bound for Marine One, Joint Base Andrews, and then his home in Florida.
“It was a great honor, the honor of a lifetime,” he said.
Vice President Mike Pence, who officially closed the book on Trump’s claims by signing the Electoral College’s imbalanced vote hours after the riot, was due to attend.
“The world will witness our determined democracy,” tweeted the Congressional Joint Committee on the inaugural ceremonies.
Watch Biden’s inauguration here:
News you should know:
- Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to attend the inauguration. President Donald Trump is not.
- Bridges to Washington are closed until Thursday, according to the Secret Service. More than a dozen metro stations will be closed until Thursday.
- The Field of Flags exhibit outside the Capitol features 191,500 US flags of varying sizes, including flags representing each state and territory. In a nod to the pandemic, the inaugural committee said the exhibit represented a “commitment to an inclusive and safe event that everyone can enjoy from their home.”
- Capitol riot arrests: find out who has been charged in the United States
President Donald Trump was to spend his last minutes in power in his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Trump is expected to be at the Palm Beach club, which he has dubbed the “Winter White House,” when the clock strikes at noon, ending a controversial presidential term that will end in a final one. military dispatch to Joint Base Andrews. Barring a schedule change, the White House has invited hundreds of supporters to a ceremony of pomp and circumstance at the air base, one is expected to feature a red carpet and a military-colored guard – and maybe be a preview of another Trump presidential run in 2024.
“As I prepare to hand over power to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we have launched is only just beginning,” Trump said in a “farewell speech” recorded on Tuesday.
– David jackson
Before sunrise on Wednesday, the heavily guarded capital of the country woke up to a cold rain. Residents, runners and dog walkers appeared to be the only civilians navigating the roads blocked by barricades, 10-foot fences and security checkpoints. Only members of the news media constantly made their way to the National Mall, which has become an armed camp. At one checkpoint, officers said only six checks were completed before 6:30 a.m.
– Josh Rivera and N’dea Yancey-Bragg
On a normal inauguration day, Washington is teeming with protesters for causes of all shapes and sizes. But strict security restrictions have discouraged such activity. The DC Action Lab, an organization that helps other groups navigate the convoluted permitting process, has secured a space at Union Station’s Columbus Circle for a protest that will be largely virtual, reports The Washington Post. A giant screen will show speeches and videos for the Working Families Party calling on President-elect Joe Biden to adopt “more progressive policies,” according to the Park Service permit.
Twelve National Guard soldiers were dismissed from their security duties at the Capitol after questionable behavior was detected in their past during the security check, Army General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the office of the military, said on Tuesday. the National Guard. Two of that group had made inappropriate comments or texts about the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said. But not all 12 have ties to extremist groups, he said.
“We’re not taking any chances,” said Hoffman, who called the comments made by the two inappropriate text.
Of the 12, 10 were identified by the FBI during a security check, Hokanson said. Another was reported by commanders and the last was identified by an anonymous tipster.
– Tom Vanden Brook and Jorge Ortiz
Three former members of the United States military are the first to be accused of plotting the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. The FBI said Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., Appeared to be the leader of a group that included Jessica Watkins, 38, and Donovan Crowl, 50, both residents of Champaign County , in Ohio. Caldwell served in the Navy, Watkins in the Army, and Crowl in the Marines.
All three are linked to paramilitary activities and have been charged with conspiracy and other federal charges, the first of more than 125 people arrested in connection with the deadly riot to face conspiracy charges.
Court documents filed Tuesday reveal insight into the planning and coordination behind the attack, as well as the messaging between the defendants and others. Some of the posts called Capitol lawmakers “traitors” and called for a “night hunt.”
A Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested on Tuesday for making “written threats to kill, bodily harm or carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism” in connection with the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, he said. said the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Peter Heneen, 29, communicated with another MP on the night of January 6, speaking about the riot via Facebook’s private messaging, according to the sheriff’s office. The other deputy reported Heneen’s threats to his commander.
“I am angry beyond words,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference. “Getting him arrested was important. Getting him to stop before the opening day was even more important.
– Kimberly C. Moore, The Ledger
A self-proclaimed white supremacist wore a GPS tracking device as part of his probation when he joined the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to a court record accompanying his arrest. Investigators used the surveillance device to track Bryan Betancur’s movements on the day of the deadly insurgency. His probation officer in Maryland called the FBI to report that Betancur claimed to have been inside the Capitol building with rioters.
Betancur told investigators he had been a member of several white supremacist groups and had expressed a desire to be a “lone wolf killer,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.
A South Carolina man who denied being involved in the Capitol Riot faces charges after a tracking app on his phone placed him at the scene. A witness called the FBI on the day of the Jan.6 riot and said they had knowledge and photos of Andrew Hatley inside the Capitol, according to the complaint. The complaint includes a since-withdrawn Facebook post in which Hatley said, “I learned there was someone like me on Capitol Hill. I would like to set the record straight. I didn’t. not that sort of motivation for lost causes. “The FBI says it obtained Hatley’s phone number and verified Hatley’s whereabouts on January 6 through the” Life360 “tracking app, the complaint says.
Hatley is accused of knowingly entering a restricted building without legal authorization, knowingly obstructing government business, engaging in disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds and demonstrating or picketing buildings. from the Capitol.
– Daniel J. Gross, Greenville News
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