January 18th, local time, a small fire suddenly broke out about a mile from the Capitol.
Police urgently blocked the building and warned the staff to stay away from the windows.
The rehearsal for Biden’s inauguration, which is taking place on the west side of the Capitol, was also forced to be interrupted.
Fire officials in Washington, D.C., then said the fire was caused by a nearby homeless tent caught fire and triggered the Capitol warning.
A thick wisp of smoke triggered an hour of lockdown in the Capitol.
The Associated Press reported that Washington was already a “windy city”.
Tensions have risen sharply across the United States since the January 6 Capitol riots, and the FBI warned the capitals of 50 states across the United States to prepare for what right-wing militants call “million-militial armed protests”.
According to Reuters, many states in the United States have now used the National Guard to defend the state capitol building. In the capital, downtown Washington has become a “ghost city”.
National Guard members have set up no-walk checkpoints in the city with guns and deployed large military vehicles to block streets.
Roadblocks, fences and the guard on duty with live ammunition have become the symbols of Washington at this moment.
At present, 25,000 National Guard members who assisted in the safety of the inauguration ceremony have been deployed one after another, which is five times the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Russia Today reports that the U.S. Secret Service divides Washington into “red zones” and “green zones”. The Green Zone is only open to local residents and businesses.
Those who want to pass the Green Zone must show their documents; while the “Red Zone” prohibits all vehicles except authorized.
“It’s reminiscent of the Green Zone established by the U.S. military in Baghdad.”
According to the report, it was set up to expel suicide bombings outside the U.S. Embassy after the U.S. military invaded Baghdad in 2003.
Washington is like a big enemy up and down.
It not only fights against the stimuli from the outside, but also carefully inspects the internal.
The Washington Post said that U.S. authorities have initiated a procedure requiring additional security checks on National Guard members in Washington, D.C. and some states to find out whether there are “moles” with links to extremists.
At present, 43 members of the National Guard sent to Washington have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while soldiers have to continue to rest in the Capitol.
As the presidential handover ceremony approaches on the 20th, tensions in Washington have spread across the country.
CNN reported that on the 18th, dozens of armed demonstrators gathered in the state capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, and the Richmond Police Department reminded demonstrators on Twitter to prohibit the use of guns in demonstrations.
In response to possible protests in the state Capitol, the state also dispatched the National Guard.
