D.C. Police Prepare For Far-Right Protests As Congress Counts Electoral Votes
Thousands of pro-Trump and far-right demonstrators are expected in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday to protest the results of the 2020 election, prompting D.C. officials to increase security in the city.
The protests are timed to come as the newly sworn-in 117th Congress officially counts the Electoral College on Wednesday, marking the last step in the election before President-elect Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.
President Trump is supporting the protests and vows to attend.
Meanwhile, city leaders are preparing for potential violence, especially as reports show members of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys are planning to attend the march dressed incognito. The FBI says the group has "ties to white nationalism" and the organization has previously been associated with acts of violence.
During pro-Trump demonstrations that turned violent in D.C. last month, members of Proud Boys removed and burned a "Black Lives Matter" banner from a historically Black church, an action the group is now being sued over.
In the lead-up to the demonstrations, unnamed individuals have also posted information online advising people how to secretly bring guns to the protests, according to The Washington Post.
In a statement Sunday, Mayor Muriel Bowser advised D.C. residents to avoid areas near downtown and issued a reminder that firearms are illegal while in National Park Service areas, including the National Mall and Freedom Plaza, two areas protesters are expected to gather.
Open possession of a firearm is also illegal throughout the city.
Bowser has also requested assistance from the National Guard for both Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the mayor's office, there will be around 114 members available "at any given time" and 340 available in total.
Bowser submitted the request to the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, William Walker, on New Year's Eve, according to a copy of the letter provided to NPR by the mayor's office. The Guard members will be unarmed and responsible for duties such as traffic control, in order to free up police.
Many streets in downtown D.C. will also be closed off starting Tuesday.
National figures have also expressed concern about the upcoming demonstrations.
Former Defense Secretary William Cohen told NPR's Morning Edition on Monday he thinks the events will present "a real challenge to maintain order and stability."
Cohen, who served in the Clinton administration, joined the other nine living former defense secretaries in an opinion piece that ran in The Washington Post Sunday condemning Trump's attempts to subvert the election, and reaffirming that the military plays no role in political disputes. Cohen is concerned civil disruption could be used as a pretext to deploy military forces in the streets.
"There are things taking place which pose, I think, a threat to our domestic tranquility and security, and that is the president encouraging some of the more right-wing extremists to march on Washington and to protest," Cohen said. "And the indication is he's urging them to - it's going to be wild." [Copyright 2021 NPR]
