Washington, DC Tall fences topped with thick, spiralling razor wire encased the US Capitol area on Friday, as thousands of heavily armed National Guardsmen stood watch. Bridges leading into the city will be closed beginning this weekend. Access to the grounds will be highly restricted.
In many ways, the lead-up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden more resembles the visit of a head of state to a military encampment in a warzone than it does the swearing-in of the president of the United States at the building housing the nation’s legislature.
The swearing-in of the 46th president will lack not just the pomp and pageantry of years past, but also the symbolic openness characteristic of the peaceful transfer of power in what is perhaps the world’s proudest democracy.
Virginia man arrested at downtown DC checkpoint found with loaded handgun and ammunition
From CNN s Peter Morris and David Shortell
An area closed sign is posted on fencing outside the US Capitol on January 16, in Washington, DC. Eric Thayer/Getty Images
US Capitol Police arrested a Virginia man as he attempted to pass through a police checkpoint in a locked-down zone of downtown Washington, DC, Friday with “unauthorized” inaugural credentials, an unregistered handgun and over 500 rounds of ammunition, according to court documents.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m., Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, stopped at the checkpoint just north of the Capitol building, according to a police affidavit made public Saturday, and presented the credential that was “not authorized to enter the restricted area.”
Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham Friday, Paul claimed that efforts to impeach Trump after he incited the mob last week were purely a partisan thing.
Facebook will block the creation of new events happening close to the White House, the U.S. Capitol building and any state capitol buildings through Joe Biden’s inauguration, the company said in a blog post.