This decision has been taken as a result of the Capitol Building riots that claimed five lives.
President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration is scheduled for January 20 and following the riots that took place on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol building, current President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia on Monday, January 11.
In the press release that was shared on the White House official website, it claimed that the decision has been taken so that no such incidents happen in the future until the inauguration. "Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the District of Columbia and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the District’s response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021."
Donald Trump has just declared a state of emergency in Washington DC.https://t.co/RAzrdWtooq
— Nick Pearson (@nickpearson87) January 12, 2021
The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been given the authority to "coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the District of Columbia."
Authorities believe that as Biden's inauguration date is coming closer, there are chances of more marches and violence. The Capitol riots resulted in the death of five people, according to People. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested people to stay home "to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent insurrection experienced at the Capitol and its grounds on Jan. 6." She also asked the Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to increase security preparations.
Derrick Evans, a West Virginia lawmaker who livestreamed himself entering the Capitol building during Wednesday’s riot was charged by federal prosecutors in Washington with entering a restricted area https://t.co/PTXhqSRpxc pic.twitter.com/P2rAa5JPLl
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) January 8, 2021
The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement Monday that "the safety and security of all those participating in the 59th Presidential Inauguration is of the utmost importance." They also added that the agency has been "working tirelessly to anticipate and prepare for all possible contingencies at every level to ensure a safe and secure Inauguration Day."
According to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies' statement, the inauguration is said to be virtual due to the pandemic with tickets limited to members of the Congress and one guest each. Although everyone is concerned about the president-elect's security, Biden said that he is "not afraid of taking the oath outside."
After receiving his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, he told the reporters in Newark, Delaware, "I think it's critically important that there be a real serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people's lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable."
Joe Biden receives the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine on camera as part of an effort by the President-elect's incoming administration to reassure the country of the safety of the vaccines. https://t.co/ENQN0DtcXi pic.twitter.com/f8JAzkmV1y
— CNN (@CNN) January 11, 2021
On the day Trump declared the emergency, the House of Democrats formally introduced one article of impeachment to the President charging him with "incitement of insurrection" following the riots on the Capital Building by his supporters. He was previously impeached by the House in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in connection with his Ukraine scandal.
References:
https://people.com/politics/trump-declares-state-of-emergency-in-washington-d-c/
