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The center of Washington was on lockdown Thursday as more than 20,000 armed National Guard troops were being mobilized due to security concerns ahead of the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden.
Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said the US capital was facing “a major security threat”, one week after supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol to try to block Biden’s confirmation as election winner.
A day after Trump was impeached in Congress for allegedly supporting that attack, more barriers were being erected and razor wire laid Thursday as part of precautions ahead of the January 20 event.
Most of downtown Washington was off limits to traffic, with one journalist comparing it to Baghdad’s high-security “Green Zone.”
The Secret Service, in charge of security, was weighing a likely unprecedented shutdown of the entire National Mall, the grassy spread normally where hundreds of thousands gather to celebrate the inauguration of a new president.
