Justice Department and FBI Put Inauguration Security on High Alert

The Justice Department said on January 19, 2021, that federal law enforcement was working with state and local partners to secure Inauguration Day in Washington and at government sites around the country. Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said the response included the National Guard and other law enforcement officers working around the clock to keep the event peaceful. Rosen’s statement came less than two weeks after the attack on the Capitol, as federal investigators were still building cases from the January 6 assault. He said the department had already charged more than 100 people and said the FBI had received nearly 200,000 digital tips from the public. The security posture had been building before Rosen spoke. On January 14, 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed officials at FEMA headquarters in Washington and said the bureau had set up command posts at FBI headquarters, the Washington field office and every one of its 56 field offices. Wray said investigators were monitoring online chatter, tips and possible armed protest activity connected to the inauguration and to state capitol buildings. The two briefings made clear how federal officials were approaching the transfer of power after January 6: as a nationwide security operation, not just a single-day ceremony in the capital.