Muriel Bowser, DC mayor urges people to avoid DC as National Guard plans to have up to 15,000 troops in town

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Meanwhile, the National Guard has plans to have up to 15,000 National Guard troops to meet current and future requests for the inauguration, General Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said Monday. The dramatic increase in troop numbers comes as law enforcement in the country’s capital and across the country braces for further extremist violence amid the transfer of power.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Bowser, a Democrat, stressed that she was concerned about more violent actors who might be coming to town in the run-up to the inauguration, saying, “If I’m afraid of something, it’s for our democracy, because in our country we have very extreme factions that are armed and dangerous. ”

“Trumpism will not die on January 20th,” said Bowser, who has asked Trump and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to make a pre-disaster statement for DC.

“Our goals right now are to encourage Americans to participate virtually and to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent uprising that witnessed the Capitol and its grounds on Jan. 6,” said Bowser.

She is also asking the Trump administration to cancel permits for public rallies between January 10 and 24.

Bowser’s request for emergency declaration would free up additional funding for the city’s security efforts for the inauguration. The mayor finally ruled in a letter to Trump over the weekend that, despite the security features the city has in place, “significant preparedness gaps remain that cannot be addressed without this emergency declaration and direct federal assistance.”

Bowser told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that she will also ask the Department of Homeland Security to initiate a “national special security event” ahead of schedule, as well as include the US Capitol in their coverage area for the inauguration.

Last month, Biden’s camp urged people not to travel to DC for the inauguration, citing the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The scaled-back festivities will instead feature a virtual program that allows Americans to participate from home.

The National Park Service also announced Monday that it will close the Washington Monument to visitors for more than two weeks, a period that includes the inauguration.

The park agency said it may also “impose temporary closures of public access to roads, parking lots and restrooms in the National Mall and Memorial Parks if conditions require, to protect public safety and park resources.”

A senior defense official told CNN on Monday that National Guard troops already earmarked for the inauguration are beginning to arrive, and plans are to have 10,000 in town by Saturday.

There’s a full rehearsal with troops in DC this week. The Justice Department command center will be extra robust, connecting virtually all cabinet departments and law enforcement agencies, the official said.

Currently, there are 6,200 National Guard members who have already been mobilized in the wake of last week’s attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump supporters.

This story has been updated with additional reporting and background information.

CNN’s Ali Main, Gregory Wallace, Pete Muntean and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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