“Lone actors” pose the greatest threat to safety during the upcoming presidential inauguration events, according to U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.
He referenced two incidents last week on Capitol Hill where people sought to “disrupt” congressional proceedings with potentially violent tactics.
An estimated 250,000 ticketed guests will attend the formal inauguration on Jan. 20, according to law enforcement.
That will be supplemented by another 25,000, who law enforcement expect will attend various demonstrations going on around the Capitol on Inauguration Day. The inauguration and its accompanying events have been designated a “National Special Security Event,” the highest federal protective status an event can receive, authorities said.
“The biggest threat, I think, for all of us remains the lone actor,” Manger said Monday. “Just in the past week, while President Carter was lying in state, we had two lone actors show up at the Capitol: one trying to bring in knives and a machete; another one who was trying – what I believe – to disrupt the proceedings by setting their car on fire down in the peace circle area.”
“Capitol police were able to interdict these folks before they had a chance to do any harm. But that threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week.”
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Manger’s remarks came during a Monday press conference with federal and local law enforcement officials, including leaders from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police, during which they discussed their preparation for the inauguration.
Representing the FBI was the assistant director in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, David Sundberg, who said the FBI was “not currently tracking any specific or credible threats to the inaugural ceremony or to the Capitol complex.”
The upcoming week of events will be secured similarly to the two high-profile National Special Security Events from last week, the presidential election certification and the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, authorities indicated. However, the inauguration will get a little extra support from roughly 4,000 local law enforcement officers who have volunteered to help and an estimated 7,800 National Guard soldiers who will deploy to the nation’s capital. In total, according to the Secret Service’s special agent in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, Matt McCool, a total of about 25,000 law enforcement officers will be on duty.
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The inauguration will get extra concrete barriers and more than 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, which is more than has been used for any National Special Security Event in the past.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith said that the district is expecting to see 12 different First Amendment demonstrations during the inauguration. Smith said that while the “MPD will ensure your right to peacefully protest,” they “will not tolerate any violence.”
“I want to reiterate – as I always have – that violence, destruction and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated,” Smith said Monday. “Offenders will face swift and decisive consequences.”
When asked by a reporter what the biggest difference was between this inauguration and the last in 2021, McCool said there is a “slightly more robust security plan.”
“We’ve learned,” McCool said. “This is our fifth NSSE this year in the Washington field office. We’ve done 83 NSSEs, each one we take a look at, and if there’s areas where we need to improve, we do it. But what I can tell you is that we are 100% confident in the plan that we have put in place for this inauguration that the public and our protectees will be safe.”
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