Joe Biden inauguration: How Capitol Hill attack will change Biden inauguration

Joe Biden confirmed as next President by Mike Pence

Last week’s Capitol Hill riots remain at the forefront of US political discourse, with a mounting case for impeachment against Donald Trump and his associates, whose rhetoric inspired the attack. As Democrats draw up articles of impeachment and collect the votes needed to pass it, incoming President Joe Biden’s teams remain preoccupied with his incoming inauguration. The event will look much different compared to those of his predecessors, thanks to both to the riots and pandemic.

How will the Capitol Hill attack alter Joe Biden’s inauguration?

A surging group of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building, the centre of US democracy, last week.

Rioters intended to stop Congress confirming Mr Biden’s Electoral College votes after weeks of rhetoric from Mr Trump and his close allies falsely branding them fraudulent.

Five people died in the chaos, and experts deemed law enforcement response a “catastrophic failure”.

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Ed Davis, a former Boston Police Commissioner, told CBS Boston’s Jon Keller the police response would “go down in history”.

He said: “This was a complete failure. A devastating failure that will go down in the annals of police history as a major mistake.

“There was an enormous amount of intelligence that it was going to be a problem.

“There was no secret that large crowds were descending on Washington.”

“The only thing they didn’t know was the president was going to act in an inciteful manner like he did, but that should have been seen with the comments he’s been making.”

Joe Biden’s inauguration, the most significant event of the year so far, will attempt to learn from this.

Matthew Davis, US lecturer and researcher at Birmingham City University’s Centre for American Legal Studies, revealed the inauguration would shift as the attacks compound the effects of the Covid pandemic.

Mr Davis said the pandemic would make the ceremony much smaller start, with fewer presidents in attendance.”

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He said: “The inauguration will certainly be very different from previous. The pandemic made this so.”

“People are being discouraged by the Biden transition team from attending given the public health concerns.

“Former President Jimmy Carter has confirmed he will not be attending.

“It is likely going to be a very small ceremony in comparison to President Obama’s first inauguration.”

Mr Davis added the attack would also see a much more militarized presence in the nation’s capital.

He said: “The mob attack on the Capitol building has heightened security concerns.

“The entire DC National Guard was activated and National Guard units from neighbouring states were called in to help as well.

“It would not surprise me to see some of these deployments being maintained to strengthen security measures for the inauguration.”

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