The National Mall — an iconic arena of American celebration, protest and unity — will be closed for a week to prevent a repeat of violence by far-right demonstrators who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6., the National Parks Service announced on Friday.
The closure of the mall began at 11 a.m. Friday and will extend to at least Thursday, Jan. 21, the day after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration.
Federal law enforcement agencies have been alarmed by an increase in chatter from right-wing extremists threatening to target the capital city in protest of Mr. Biden’s decisive victory in the popular vote and Electoral College.
To Mr. Trump, the mall is not merely a physical space, but a psychic one. In the days following his own inauguration four years ago, he repeatedly exaggerated the size of the crowd that attended, falsely claiming it was the biggest in history, despite photographic evidence to the contrary.
Mr. Biden has resisted calls to move the celebration indoors for the sake of safety. His inauguration committee had already been planning a scaled-back celebration with virtual components because of the coronavirus.
Two small areas adjacent to the two-mile long park, which extends from the foot of the Capitol to the Potomac tidal basin behind the Lincoln Memorial, will remain open for inauguration events, and areas will be set aside for peaceful protest, the service announced in a statement.
“Each of these park areas will be limited to no more individuals than can be safely accommodated,” the park service wrote in the statement. “Based on the current assessment, no more than 100 individuals at each location can be safely accommodated.”
The Memorial Bridge, which connects the mall to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, will also be shut, along with long stretches of the grand thoroughfares that crisscross the capital’s downtown, including Constitution, Pennsylvania and Independence Avenues.
The Capitol Police also announced that the Capitol complex would be closed to the public on Inauguration Day.
Metro officials are shuttering 13 rail stations and several bus routes near the White House, and Capitol, part of a security effort that includes the mobilization of 20,000 national guard troops — evoking images of Civil War in Washington.
— Glenn Thrush The New York Times