In a press conference Monday, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser urged Americans to participate virtually in the festivities surrounding President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week, imploring people to avoid attending in person as the city recovers from the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol last week.
"Our goals right now are to encourage Americans to participate virtually and to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent insurrection experienced at the Capitol and its grounds on January 6," Bowser said.
On Wednesday, Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob stormed the United States Capitol Building as the Senate and House were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win in November, in a brazen attempt to overturn the results of the election in favor of President Donald Trump. Five people died in the violent insurrection, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
Trump faces numerous calls for resignation for his role in the uprising, from both Democrats and Republicans; House Democrats have already moved to impeach the president, while calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Mayor Bowser, warning that "Trumpism won't die on Jan. 20," said that she has asked both the president and acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to issue a pre-disaster declaration for the city.
Such a declaration would free up funding for D.C.'s security efforts ahead of the inauguration. Bowser also said that she asked the Trump administration to cancel any public gathering permits until Jan. 24.
Bowser also sent a letter to acting Secretary Wolf asking for assistance, including extending the National Special Security Event (NSSE) period until Jan. 24, and requesting a daily threat and intelligence briefing from the FBI through the 24th.
In a statement released Monday, Wolf authorized the NSSE to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 13 instead of Tuesday, Jan. 19, as originally intended.
The head of the National Guard says at least 10,000 troops will be deployed in Washington, D.C., by Saturday, and an additional 5,000 could be requested from other states.
There are currently 6,200 Guard members in the city from D.C. and five nearby states. The increase in requests for Guard members on Monday comes as officials brace for more, possibly violent protests surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters that he has authorization to bring in up to 15,000 Guard members. He said the number of deployments is changing by the hour and day, based on requests from the Secret Service, the Park Police and the Capitol Police.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.