Islam Times - More Extremist Violence Expected in DC ahead of Inauguration Day

Islam Times - Days after rioters stormed the US Capitol, calls for new protests in Washington, DC, and other states have law enforcement bracing for more possible violence in the coming days.

According to CNN, authorities are preparing for additional personnel to help secure the capital in the coming days. A Department of Homeland Security official told CNN that the breach of the Capitol will sharpen the response and planning for inauguration.

"Now that it happened people will take it much more seriously," the official said, referring to last week's violence. "Now, the planners, they are all going to take it much more seriously."

Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said in in a statement Sunday that the War Department is aware of "further possible threats posed by would-be terrorists in the days up to and including Inauguration Day."

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked for additional security measures with ten days to go before Inauguration Day as Wednesday's riot has set off a shockwave of concern among federal, state and local officials for more possible bloodshed over the outcome of the 2020 election that ousted President Donald Trump from office.

At the Capitol Police's request, DHS helped install fencing, which was seen going up around Capitol Hill Thursday.

At the Pentagon, officials are assessing whether there is a need to bolster the number of National Guard forces to as many as 13,000 guardsmen for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, according to a military official with knowledge of the planning. Prior to the US Capitol breach, the estimated need called for approximately 7,000 guard troops.

More than 6,000 members have already been mobilized in the wake of the Capitol being stormed by pro-Trump rioters to work in 12-hour shifts on Capitol grounds and work traffic control points throughout the city.

At the state level, security officials have been working closely with federal partners as they prepare for increasing online chatter calling for protests in all 50 states, plus Washington, DC, said one state law enforcement official with direct knowledge of conversations between federal and state partners.

Plans for future armed protests, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, began proliferating on and off Twitter last week, the social media company said.

Still, extremism experts are fearful of what will happen on and around January 20 when Biden is sworn into office, given surging calls for violence as many extremists see the Capitol incursion as a success.