Trump inauguration security fears as concrete barriers and fencing surround 'ring of steel' White House

 

The stone barriers and fencing were put in place ahead of the January 20 ceremony in Washington D.C. after security staff said they particularly feared a 'lone actor' attack. 

Trump inauguration security fears as concrete barriers and fencing surround 'ring of steel' White House
The stone barriers and fencing were put in place ahead of the January 20 ceremony in Washington D.C. after security staff said they particularly feared a 'lone actor' attack.

Huge concrete barriers and non-scalable fencing have been built around the White House as the country prepares for Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The hefty stone blockades were installed around the president’s Washington D.C. residence during the early hours of this morning. Officials hope this ‘ring of steel’ will keep Trump safe at the ceremony on Monday, where he’ll take the ‘oath of office’ in front of an expected crowd of 250,000 people.

Fears have grown about Trump’s security following the two high-profile assassination attempts while he was on the campaign trail last year. Officials said on Monday they were particularly concerned about the threat from a “lone actor”, according to AP.

“We've been planning for this event for 12 months along with our partners. It's an ever-changing threat environment and so we stay flexible. If we see that, ‘Hey, we need to we need to shore this this particular checkpoint up,’ we do that,” said Special Agent in Charge William "Matt" McCool, of the U.S. Secret Service field office in the nation's capital.

The president-elect’s second inauguration is expected to be a far more different affair than the last time America got a new leader. Trump, who refused to accept his 2020 loss, did not attend Democratic President Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, where there were still visible reminders of the violent January 6, 2021, siege on the building by his supporters.

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