华盛顿——在即将到来的当选总统就职典礼上，美国国会大厦的暴力暴动正在加强对安全的审查乔·拜登，它已经被冠状病毒流行病和总统唐纳德·特朗普决定不参加。
拜登和副总统当选人卡玛拉·哈里斯将在国会大厦的西线宣誓就职，周三，一群暴徒在西线制服了警察并冲进了大楼。他们还攀登并占据了仪式现场的脚手架和露天看台。
由于冠状病毒，1月20日就职的计划已经缩减。但这一无耻的攻击引发了人们对这一事件的准备情况的新疑问，这一事件将迎来一个痛苦的新政府选举。
负责协调就职典礼的国会领导人坚持认为，事情会向前发展。
“然而，对国会大厦的令人愤慨的袭击不会阻止我们向美国人——以及世界——申明我们的民主是持久的，”密苏里州参议员罗伊·布朗特说。美国就职典礼的伟大传统发生在和平时期、动荡时期、繁荣时期和逆境时期。我们将让当选总统拜登宣誓就职。”
在周三的混乱之后，安全部队已经开始采取额外的预防措施。五人死亡，包括一名国会警察。
来自弗吉尼亚州、宾夕法尼亚州、纽约州、新泽西州、特拉华州和马里兰州六个州的大约6200名国民警卫队成员将在未来30天内帮助支持华盛顿的国会警察和其他执法机构。
工作人员在国会大厦的地面上竖起了高高的黑色金属围栏，这些围栏被设计成无法攀爬。类似的建筑以前曾在白宫和其他面临长期示威的城市使用过。
然而，这些障碍在未来几天无论如何都会增加，因为就职典礼是一项国家特别安全活动，由特勤局和包括国防部在内的其他几十个联邦机构监督，帮助领导与该活动相关的反恐努力。这与政党大会期间或高官在国会大厦时提供的安全级别相同，但不同于正常的国会会议期间，如暴徒闯入大楼时。
特勤局在一份声明中说:“所有参加第59届总统就职典礼的人的安全和安保至关重要。”。“一年多来，美国特勤局与我们的NSSE合作伙伴一起，一直在不懈努力，预测和准备各级可能出现的所有突发事件。”
拜登星期五对记者说，他“对特工部门非常有信心”，他们有能力确保就职典礼“安全进行”。
一位熟悉安全规划的人士表示，由于抗击冠状病毒的限制，当局将有相同的军事和民事足迹来处理一场预计只有一小部分人参加的活动的100多万人。
那些在以前的就职典礼上工作过的人说，虽然今年的事件看起来会有所不同，但将权力从一个政府移交给另一个政府的传统将会继续。
“它有影响力吗？你没有一百万人的照片，所以你没有那种强大的形象。但我认为你仍然会有这种感觉，”比尔·戴利说，他是前商务部长和白宫办公厅主任，曾在2009年帮助组织巴拉克·奥巴马总统的首次就职典礼。“变革的光环会在那里。”
特朗普没有做到这一点。他错误地认为选举这一主张遭到了关键摇摆州的共和党同僚和他最近离任的司法部长的拒绝。他的许多法律挑战都被全盘驳回，认为没有价值，包括他任命的保守派法官。
特朗普在白宫前的集会帮助激怒了后来袭击国会大厦的暴徒。
特朗普周五在推特上表示，他不会参加继任者的就职典礼，拜登称之为“他和我达成一致的少数事情之一”。
“他没有出现是件好事，”拜登说。
尽管如此，这位即将离任的总统在美国历史上只跳过了三次新任总统的宣誓就职，最后一次是152年前的安德鲁·约翰逊。特朗普只是在国会大厦遭到袭击后才承认即将进行的权力移交。
就职委员会表示，拜登将在从国会大厦抵达白宫之前，在一个街区内接受官方陪同，陪同人员包括来自各个军事部门的代表。
总统车队通常会行驶一英里以上的路程，新总统和第一夫人会走一段路。目前还不清楚这一次是否会发生。
无论发生什么，这将与奥巴马2009年的就职典礼相去甚远，当时组织者开放了国家广场的全长——一直延伸到林肯纪念堂——以容纳大量的人群。不过，当时安全性也是一个问题。
前一天晚上，乔治·布什总统的国土安全部部长迈克尔·切尔托夫(Michael Chertoff)向奥巴马的团队通报了可靠的情报，表明四名被认为越过美加边境的索马里男子可能计划在就职典礼上发动恐怖袭击。
在他的书《应许之地》中，奥巴马写道，他有一个顾问“起草疏散指示，如果我在台上发生袭击，我会给人群下达这些指示。”他说他“松了一口气”，什么都没发生，他不必使用它们。
就职历史学家、《民主的大日子》一书的作者吉姆·本达特(Jim Bendat)指出，离任和继任总统通常在白宫会面，并在加入前往国会大厦参加宣誓仪式的队伍之前聊天。特朗普可能不会在放弃就职典礼的同时邀请拜登进入白宫，本达特表示，这将等同于“对我们民主的攻击”，类似于国会大厦的暴民暴力。
“那些非常具有象征意义的时刻真的让我们大开眼界，”本达特在谈到两位总统的会面时诚恳地说道。“全世界都在关注这些时刻，因为这在大多数国家是不会发生的。”
尽管如此，戴利说，1988年首次竞选总统的拜登可能是唯一有资格参加一个基本上没有传统盛况的就职典礼的人。
“我认为对一个和他相处时间一样长的人来说，这是不太需要的。他的全部主旨是，‘我能跑着落地，因为我去过那里。“我知道这些东西，”戴利说。“我不认为他需要站在领奖台上为自己庆祝很长时间。”
Capitol siege raises security worries for Biden inauguration
WASHINGTON -- The violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is intensifying scrutiny over security at the upcoming inauguration ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden, which already has been reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic and President Donald Trump's decision not to attend.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office from the Capitol's West Front, one of the locations where a mob overpowered police and stormed the building on Wednesday. They also scaled and occupied the scaffolding and bleachers in place for the ceremonies.
Plans for the Jan. 20 inauguration were already scaled back because of the coronavirus. But the brazen attack raises new questions about preparedness for the event that will welcome a new administration after a bitter election.
The congressional leaders responsible for coordinating the inauguration has insisted that events will move forward.
“The outrageous attack on the Capitol, however, will not stop us from affirming to Americans — and the world — that our democracy endures," said Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. “The great American tradition of an inaugural ceremony has occurred in times of peace, in times of turmoil, in times of prosperity, and in times of adversity. We will be swearing in President-elect Biden.”
Security forces have already begun taking extra precautions in the wake of Wednesday's mayhem. Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer.
Roughly 6,200 members of the National Guard from six states — Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland — will help support the Capitol Police and other law enforcement in Washington for the next 30 days.
Crews erected tall black metal fences on the Capitol grounds that are designed to be impossible to climb. Similar structures have previously been used around the White House and in other cities that faced prolonged demonstrations.
Such barriers would have gone up anyway in coming days, however, because the inauguration is a National Special Security Event overseen by the Secret Service and scores of other federal agencies, including the Defense Department, which helps lead counterterrorism efforts associated with the event. That's the same level of security provided during political party conventions or when a dignitary lies in state at the Capitol — but not during a normal congressional session like when rioters breached the building.
“The safety and security of all those participating in the 59th Presidential Inauguration is of the utmost importance,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “For well over a year, the U.S. Secret Service, along with our NSSE partners, has been working tirelessly to anticipate and prepare for all possible contingencies at every level.”
Biden told reporters Friday that he has “great confidence in the Secret Service” and their ability to make sure the inauguration ”goes off safely.”
Authorities will have the same military and civilian footprint to handle a crowd of more than a million people for an event expected to draw a small fraction of that because of restrictions to combat the coronavirus, according to a person familiar with the security planning.
Those who have worked on previous inaugurations said that while this year's events will look different, the tradition of passing power from one administration to another will continue.
“Is it as impactful? You don’t have a photo of a million people lined up, so you don’t have that sort of powerful image. But I think you will still have the feel there,” said Bill Daley, a former commerce secretary and White House chief of staff who helped organize President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009. “The aura of change will be there.”
Trump hasn't made that easy. He has falsely argued that the election was stolen, a claim that has been rejected by fellow Republicans in critical swing states and his recently departed attorney general. His many legal challenges were roundly dismissed as meritless, including by conservative judges he appointed.
A Trump rally in front of the White House helped rile up the mob that later stormed the Capitol.
Trump tweeted Friday that he won't attend his successor's inauguration, and Biden called it “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on."
“It's a good thing, him not showing up,” Biden said.
Still, the outgoing president has skipped the incoming president's swearing-in only three times in U.S. history, and the last one to do so was Andrew Johnson 152 years ago. Trump only acknowledged the upcoming transfer of power after the Capitol was stormed.
The inaugural committee said Biden would receive an official escort, with representatives from every military branch, for a block before arriving at the White House from the Capitol.
The presidential motorcade usually rolls the mile-plus journey with the new president and first lady walking part of the way. It's unclear whether that will occur this time.
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.
Jim Bendat, an inaugural historian and author of the book “Democracy’s Big Day,” noted that the outgoing and the incoming presidents usually meet at the White House and chat before joining a procession to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremonies. Trump may not invite Biden to the White House while forgoing the inauguration, which Bendat said would amount to “an assault on our democracy” akin to the mob violence at the Capitol.
“Those are very symbolic moments that really open our eyes," Bendat said of the two presidents meeting cordially. “The world watches those moments because it’s something that doesn’t occur in most countries.”
Still, Daley said Biden, who first ran for president in 1988, may be uniquely qualified for an inauguration that's mostly void of traditional pomp and circumstance.
“I think it's less needed for someone who's been around as long as he's been. And his whole thrust has been, ‘I can hit the ground running because I’ve been there. I know this stuff,'” Daley said. “I don't think he needs to stand there on the podium celebrating himself very long.”
