Washington sees ‘higher-threat environment’ for Trump inauguration, adds fortresslike fencing

SCMP | Jan. 14, 2025, 11 a.m. | Original

A man walks past security fencing near the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Reuters

With 48km (30 miles) of tall black temporary fencing, 25,000 law enforcement officers and security checkpoints set up to process hundreds of thousands of spectators, Washington is braced for president-elect Donald Trump ’s inauguration next week.

The Monday swearing-in on the steps of the US Capitol and parade to the White House will follow a weekend featuring protests by Trump’s opponents and parties and rallies by the Republican’s supporters.

The inauguration follows a campaign marked by two attempts on Trump’s life – including one from a would-be assassin who nicked his ear with a bullet – and a pair of New Year’s Day attacks on ordinary Americans.

In one, 14 people were killed and dozens injured when a US Army veteran rammed a truck into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revellers in New Orleans. The same day, an active-duty US Army soldier detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump-branded hotel in Las Vegas; he soldier was the only fatality.

“We are in a higher-threat environment,” said US Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool at a Monday press briefing.

The inauguration itself, when Trump formally takes the oath of office with members of Congress, the Supreme Court, his incoming administration and tens of thousands of others looking on, will take place on the Capitol steps, facing the Washington Monument.

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