Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Saturday sent a letter to Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, asking for increased security ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20. The request comes after an "unprecedented terrorist attack" at the United States Capitol took place last week leaving four people dead.
Bowser asked for a change in plans because of the "chaos, injury, and death" that occurred "during the insurrection" on Wednesday.
Specifically, Bowser wants DHS to extend their security timeframe from Jan. 19th through the 21st to Jan. 11th through the 24th. She also "recommends" DHS receive permission from Congress to include the Capitol in security planning.
The mayor is also asking for a pre-disaster declaration to be declared under the Robert T. Stafford Act, which would provide federal aid to the city.
"My Administration is developing specific requests for direct federal assistance and will work with FEMA to execute those requests upon approval of the declaration," the letter stated.
The city also wants DHS to coordinate with the DOD, DOJ, Congress and the Supreme Court to "establish a security and federal force deployment plan for all federal property, which will ensure the Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) ability to focus on its local mission in the District's eight wards."
The mayor reminded Wolf that the federal government is responsible for protecting and securing federal property.
"Earlier this week, MPD officers acted heroically rushing to back-up the United States Capitol Police to stop the assault on the United States Capitol," she wrote. "Consistent with established protocols and practices, it is the primary responsibility of the federal government to secure federal property in these situations."
Bowser also asked that the FBI provide a daily intelligence briefing to the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA), MPD and all law enforcement agencies in the area, between Jan. 11th through Jan. 24th.
The mayor also requested that the Department of the Interior Secretary cancel all events and decline all event permits, something that has been routinely done since the start of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
"The requests outlined herein – if issued swiftly and communicated broadly – are essential to demonstrating our collective resolve in ensuring the Constitutional transition of power and our nation's capital in the days leading up to it," she wrote.
Read the full letter below:
I strongly urge the United States Department of Homeland Security to adjust its approach to the Inauguration in several specific ways, and have outlined them in the following letter to Acting Secretary Wolf. pic.twitter.com/GaxUWfFbxk
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 10, 2021
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