Workers installed razor wire atop 7-foot fencing around the US Capitol on Friday as part of an unprecedented fortification effort ahead of next week’s inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
National Guard members are also being sent to Washington, DC, from as far away as Hawaii to provide security, with Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, the Aloha State’s adjutant general, saying the request for troops came Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
A Defense Department official said as many as 200,000 Guard members have been authorized to protect the Jan. 20 ceremony, ABC News reported.
The dramatic security measures are intended to prevent a repeat of the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by supporters of President Trump.
The outgoing president was impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday for allegedly inciting the insurrection, making Trump the only commander-in-chief to be impeached twice.