# How bad will it be on Inauguration Day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098 "2021-01-09T06:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/1 "2021-01-09T06:40:47Z")
I feel like “will there be violence” is a dumb question. “How many deaths will there be” is probably better. I don’t think there will be as many yahoos doing dumb things as there were on the 6th. I think there will be a smaller number doing more serious things, not necessarily limited to the immediate vicinity of the inauguration. I hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/2 "2021-01-09T06:51:20Z")
Under the circumstances, surely there isn’t any Constitutional problem with the mayor of DC just closing off the entire area for the day? I mean just nobody who isn’t invited within a mile or more of the inauguration? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/3 "2021-01-09T06:54:40Z")
I doubt there will be significant violence. Security will be a lot tighter after the Capitol fiasco. And Trump will probably be sulking away somewhere instead of fanning the flames. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/4 "2021-01-09T07:22:56Z")
After Trump let his followers know he wouldn’t be there, they now have no reason to hold back. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/5 "2021-01-09T07:26:40Z")
There are going to be 6,200 National Guardsmen (Guardspeople?) There’ll be an iron fence that’s supposedly nearly impossible to scale. The Secret Service and DC police will be out in full force. I assume there will be the usual snipers on rooftops. I remember reading that before Barack Obama’s inauguration, he was given a list of things to say from the podium during his inaugural speech in the event there was a terrorist attack. (There was some indication a Somali group was planning one, plus, of course, the racial tensions.) There were 1.8 million people at that inauguration and nothing untoward happened. There will be only 1,000 at this one. I’m hopeful that with all that plus the dampening effect of the insurrection aftermath will hold true, but I won’t relax until…well, there is no _until_. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/6 "2021-01-09T07:27:42Z")
Or a fair few of them might at last see how dispensable he thinks they are, and give up on him altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/7 "2021-01-09T07:45:35Z")
Are you sure about that? In the event of a terrorist attack at the inauguration I would think the absolute very first thing that would happen would be the president being whisked away, not left at the podium to make PSA’s. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/8 "2021-01-09T08:24:20Z")
Yep, I’m sure. > Whatever happens, it’ll be a far cry from Obama’s 2009 inauguration, when organizers opened the full length of the National Mall — which extends all the way to the Lincoln Memorial — to accommodate the massive crowds. Security was a concern then, too, though. > > The night before, Michael Chertoff, President George W. Bush’s secretary of homeland security, informed Obama’s team of credible intelligence indicating that four Somali men who were thought to be coming over the U.S.-Canada border might be planning a terrorist attack on the inauguration ceremony. > > In his book “A Promised Land,” Obama writes that he had an adviser “draft evacuation instructions that I’d give the crowd if an attack took place while I was onstage.” He said he was “relieved” that nothing happened and he didn’t have to use them. Source: [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/capitol-siege-raises-security-concerns-biden-inaugural-75132261) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/9 "2021-01-09T09:44:16Z")
There has been some speculation as to whether Trump was somehow behind the lameness of the security at the Capitol on Wednesday. For example, did he block the deployment of the National Guard? In one of these other related threads, somebody asked if Trump has any kind of authority over the security at the inauguration (up until the moment he isn’t prez any more). I didn’t see that there was any answer, last I looked. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/10 "2021-01-09T14:50:19Z")
I would happily attend a _virtual inauguration_, which is as it should be, given an ongoing pandemic, let alone recent attempts at insurrection. I’m picturing a star-studded extravaganza, first of its kind event. It would be cool for President Biden to be able to brag about the huge attendance, possibly the largest attendance for a presidential inauguration. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/11 "2021-01-09T15:00:55Z")
There has already been a social media post on Wimkin calling for a “Million Militia March.” Signed by one Vic Freeman it calls people to “prevent any attempt by treasonous domestic enemy Joe Biden…from entering the White House…” I cannot find the original post, I’ve only seen a screen shot. First time I’d heard of Wimkin. It promotes itself as a “censorship free” social media site, although the two Wimkin URLs referenced in the post I saw, presumably some type of subforums or blogs, do not resolve. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/12 "2021-01-09T15:01:44Z")
There are planned, violent attacks for Jan 17, 19, and 20. I sure hope the FBI, Secret Service, and Capitol Police have been monitoring Parler (or even NBC news): > **[Extremists vow to return to Washington for Joe Biden's inauguration](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/right-wing-extremists-vow-return-washington-joe-biden-s-inauguration-n1253546?fbclid=IwAR0gWcybGHpCqyV3GJgXsCYZrTaFZvI5P5KSam8fmMG2TYLvkgEz8EqzgzQ)** > > "We will come in numbers that no standing army or police agency can match,” wrote a popular Parler user who frequently posts about QAnon. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/13 "2021-01-09T15:13:14Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > There has been some speculation as to whether Trump was somehow behind the lameness of the security at the Capitol on Wednesday. For example, did he block the deployment of the National Guard? Something that I read in a few places is that there are about 2200 Capitol Police but only 500 were called in that day. IOW, they easily could have had more on duty that day and even if they miscalculated how bad things would get, as many of us likely did, they had a pool of 1700 more officers that could have been called in but weren’t. The chief resigned, but I couldn’t tell you what his motivation was for not having a larger police presence that day. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/14 "2021-01-09T15:16:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > There has been some speculation as to whether Trump was somehow behind the lameness of the security at the Capitol on Wednesday. For example, did he block the deployment of the National Guard? > > In one of these other related threads, somebody asked if Trump has any kind of authority over the security at the inauguration (up until the moment he isn’t prez any more). I didn’t see that there was any answer, last I looked. I read somewhere he had no authority over the capitol police— at least in the sense that he didn’t, say, order an intentionally light detail of police to make things easier for the rioters. What influence trump may have had over _some_ of the capitol police in terms of their sympathy to the rioters, who knows. I would like to hear a definitive explanation for why they opened the gate for rioters in that one video clip. As to whether he intentionally held back deploying the National Guard to give the rioters more time to do their thing, extremely plausible, I’d say. There’s an account, which I believe came from no less than Ben Sasse, that trump was initially delighted with the news of the Capitol building being overrun, and he was confused why his nearby aides did not share his joy. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/15 "2021-01-09T15:25:35Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Something that I read in a few places is that there are about 2200 Capitol Police but only 500 were called in that day. IOW, they easily could have had more on duty that day and even if they miscalculated how bad things would get, as many of us likely did, they had a pool of 1700 more officers that could have been called in but weren’t. The chief resigned, but I couldn’t tell you what his motivation was for not having a larger police presence that day. 500 officers is probably a full shift on a busy day. An all-call for “all hands on deck” would leave the force without other shift or reserve capacity. People keep looking for some kind of conspiracy that enabled this abominable rampage but it does seem to be a combination of a lack of anticipation for violent action combined with a desire to not be seen repeating the ‘optics’ of the BLM protests. In retrospect (and frankly, what should have been foresight) the Capitol Police should have pre-coordinated with DC Metro, US Park Police, National Guard, and the interlocking web of interagency support agreements to have a reserve force on standby as well as contingency plans to secure the Capitol building from any kind of attack during such a historically contentious event, but as Goethe noted, “Misunderstandings and lethargy perhaps produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/16 "2021-01-09T15:31:18Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > 500 officers is probably a full shift on a busy day. An all-call for “all hands on deck” would leave the force without other shift or reserve capacity. It doesn’t have to be all or none(500). Bringing on an extra 500 officers certainly would have been a huge help. Calling in more as they realized how outnumbered they were would have been a huge help. I don’t want to go down this road, but if this was a planned BLM march, this isn’t how they would have prepared. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/17 "2021-01-09T15:33:07Z")
I’m most worried about a terrorist attack (or multiple attacks) somewhere other than the inauguration itself. The smarter ones will know their chance of success is small with all the security around the event. But scatter some pipe bombs or car bombs elsewhere, timed to go off during the ceremony, and they can ensure that the story of the day is about them, not Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/18 "2021-01-09T15:51:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t want to go down this road, but if this was a planned BLM march, this isn’t how they would have prepared. I don’t disagree with that. There was certainly some willful blindness to the threat posed by these “demonstrators” even in absence of being stoked by their Instigator-In-Chief, and no doubt some factor of that was the skin tone and politics of the demonstrators vice the BLM protesters. But I’m highly dubious regarding speculation that the Capitol Police leadership were acting to facilitate an attack on the Capitol Building. This certainly did nothing to improve the image of either Trump or the Capitol Police as an effective security force. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/19 "2021-01-09T16:12:31Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > But I’m highly dubious regarding speculation that the Capitol Police leadership were acting to facilitate an attack on the Capitol Building There’s videos of the police essentially escorting the protesters in. I’m not saying it was a coordinated effort ordered by their superiors as opposed to a few bad actors, but it happened none the less. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098/20 "2021-01-09T18:11:41Z")
Ignorance fought! Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-will-it-be-on-inauguration-day/930098.md?page=2)