Democratic District Mayor Muriel Bowser voiced concern Sunday that the potential violence against which more than 20,000 troops are protecting the federal parts of Washington, D.C., may spread to its less protected residential areas.
“I’m not only concerned about other state capitals, I’m also concerned about other parts of Washington, D.C.,” Bowser told NBC host Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.” “What you’re showing is really the federal enclave of Washington, D.C., not where the 700,000 of us live. So our police department, working with our federal law enforcement partners and the United States Army, quite frankly, also has a plan to pivot if we have any attacks in our neighborhoods.”
When asked how long the unprecedented security measures in Washington will continue, Bowser scolded people for not taking right-wing domestic terrorism seriously.
“I think what we saw here last week is that we didn’t take it seriously enough. We’ve never believed that so-called ‘patriots’ would attempt to overthrow their government and kill police officers,” Bowser said. “But that’s exactly what happened.”
“And so I do think we have to take another posture in our city that is more domestic terrorist focused than external to our country and act accordingly. Now, we don’t want to see fences. We definitely don’t want to see armed troops on our streets. But we do have to take a different posture,” Bowser added.
WATCH:
WATCH: Mayor @MurielBowser says she is concerned about attacks in "other parts of Washington DC" outside the federal enclave. #MTP
"Our police department working with federal law enforcement and U.S. Army … has a plan to pivot if we have any attacks in our neighborhoods." pic.twitter.com/kyBMbwK6KB
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 17, 2021
Washington, D.C., has become a virtual militarized zone since the violent riots against the Capitol. As The Daily Wire reported:
The entire National Mall was shut to the public Friday morning as one of the many unprecedented security measures being taken to protect next week’s inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Citing last week’s violent riot at the Capitol, the National Park Service instituted a “temporary public closure” of the National Mall at the request of the U.S. Secret Service.
“The unprecedented nature of the recent civil unrest at the U.S. Capitol coupled with the real and substantial threat of violence and unlawful behavior poses an unprecedented public safety and security challenge,” Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said in a statement.
The two-mile length of the National Mall stretches from the Capitol to the Potomac River, along which lies the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. Presidential inaugurations used to be held on the east side of the Capitol until President Ronald Reagan, who moved them in 1981 to the west side in front of the National Mall.
Traditionally, the public has gathered on the National Mall to watch the inauguration ceremony on large jumbotrons, but with the twin threats of COVID-19 and domestic terrorism, the proceedings will be virtual.
During a recent FEMA briefing attended by Vice President Mike Pence, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the bureau is seeing “an extensive amount of concerning online chatter” about threats to the inaugural proceedings. “We’re concerned about the potential for violence at multiple protests and rallies,” he said, both in D.C. and at state capitols across the country.
Related: ‘Unprecedented’: Entire National Mall Shut To Public Ahead Of Inauguration