Organizers expected about 250,000 guests to flock to the Capitol and the National Mall to watch the presidential inauguration. However, due to extreme weather only a few will be allowed into the Capitol. Others will be able to follow the ceremony in a sports arena.
Metal fences, concrete barriers and security checkpoints continue to line many of the hallways and cross streets of the National Mall, which stretches from the U.S. Capitol to some of Washington's best-known landmarks. as the country prepares to swear in its 47th president.
But while the 146-acre (0.6-square-kilometer) strip of land is often the highlight of many tourist visits, it is no longer the focus of security efforts as President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office for a second time.
Extremely cold temperatures predicted for much of Monday prompted Trump to move the festivities indoors: the inauguration to the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and the traditional inaugural parade to nearby Capital One Arena.
The changes, first announced Friday, presented a last-minute problem for security and law enforcement officials, who had been planning the inauguration for the past year.
And that has left them, and the approximately 25,000 law enforcement and military officers charged with security, with multiple challenges.
“We will transfer those assets,” Matt McCool of the US Secret Service said in a briefing with reporters on Sunday.
“We haven't cut anything from what our original plan was,” he said. “I am very confident that with our partners here, we will be ready.”
The numbers could make the situation especially difficult.
Organizers expected about 250,000 ticket-holding guests to flock to the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall to watch the presidential inauguration.
Only a select few will be allowed into the Capitol Rotunda, which seats just 600 people. And the Capital One area has capacity for only 20,000.
If even a fraction of the 250,000 people who had planned to attend the inauguration try to reach the stadium, there could be a crisis.
Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said Sunday that her force, reinforced by about 4,000 police officers from across the United States, will be ready.
“Nothing has really changed,” Smith told reporters. “The police officers who were committed and dedicated to coming here, we will be flexible in how we adjust (their) movement…So, we will continue to have police officers in places and spaces around our city as we had initially planned”.
Some of those officers, Smith said, will remain assigned to the original parade route in anticipation of some people trying to catch a glimpse of the presidential motorcade as it passes by.
The U.S. Capitol Police said they also plan to have officers on the periphery of the West Front of the Capitol, now closed as the inauguration was moved inside, ready to direct ticketed guests who will no longer be able to attend.
The inaugural security contingent, which includes the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Capitol Police, Washington Metropolitan Police and about 7,800 members of the U.S. Army and Air National Guard, will be coordinated from a command center connected to an expanded network of cameras that monitor the city.
And while security measures in some areas, including parts of the National Mall, have been relaxed, officials said there will be plenty of reminders for anyone coming to Washington that this is not a normal time.
“You'll see tactical teams,” McCool said, during an earlier briefing with reporters last week. “You'll see officers and agents on rooftops, you'll see checkpoints. You'll see road closures and concrete barriers.”
Even before the inauguration moved indoors, officials had been preparing for what they described as “a heightened threat environment,” warning that security plans for this inauguration were already more robust than in the past.
“I think the biggest threat to all of us remains the lone actor,” said Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger. “That threat … remains the biggest justification for us being in this state of high alert.”
These concerns increased after the terrorist attack and truck hit in New Orleans on New Year's Day and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Snowfall.
Earlier this month, Capitol Police arrested two men suspected of trying to disrupt former US President Jimmy Carter's state funeral: one tried to bring knives and a machete into the Capitol and another set his car on fire.
Research, including a recent survey by the University of Chicago Security and Threat Project, is adding to the concerns.
“More than 5% of the American public supports the use of force to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president,” Robert Pape, director of the project, told the VOA.
“That's equivalent to 14,000,000 American adults,” he said. “It is a sadly disturbing figure.”
Trump has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
There is also a constant threat from Iran. Despite repeated Iranian denials, US security and law enforcement authorities have accused Tehran of trying to kill Trump, revealing a plot that was to take place last year, in the days after the election. United States presidential elections.
For now, however, U.S. officials see no signs of impending trouble.
“The FBI is not currently tracking any credible or specific threats to the inaugural ceremony or the Capitol complex,” the agency's Washington Field Office told the agency. VOA. “We will continue to work closely with our partners to share information and identify and disrupt any threats that may arise.”
Another source of concern is the tens of thousands of protesters, although so far, there have been no major incidents.
Saturday's Popular Marchwhich was allowed to have up to 50,000 protesters, sparked only brief tensions with Trump supporters.
Another group, called We Fight Back, has permits for protests involving about 10,000 people at various locations on Monday.
“Please know that (we) will ensure your right to peacefully protest and assemble,” said Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
“However, I want to reiterate, as I have always done, that violence, destruction and illegal behavior will not be tolerated,” he said. “Violators will face swift and decisive consequences… anyone who thinks they can come to this city to destroy property, we will be prepared to deal with them.”
(Kim Lewis contributed to this report)