Can Washington handle two weeks of high-security pomp along with a heavy burst of snow?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s capital is often not a place that handles winter weather well. Cold-weather transplants complain about the inability of local drivers to navigate snowy roads and the tendency of the school systems to shut down at the first sign of falling flakes.
Now the ceremonial pomp of Washington is colliding with the circumstance of a major snow storm, forecast to dump up to a foot in some places by Monday night. The weather adds an unexpected layer of complexity to what was already a challenging two-week stretch for local officials.
For the first time, the District of Columbia is hosting three designated National Special Security Events in a two-week span: Monday’s congressional certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral win, this week’s state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter and then Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“This has never happened before,” said Matt McCool of the Secret Service’s Washington field office.
The special security event designation is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination among D.C. officials, the FBI, Secret Service, Capitol Police and Washington’s National Guard contingent.
The certification, which has historically been a low-profile ministerial proceeding, was elevated to National Special Security Event after the chaotic riot of Jan. 6, 2021. This time, that process progressed smoothly Monday afternoon, amid security restrictions that, according to McCool, mimicked those of a presidential State of the Union address.
“The Washington, D.C., area is well-versed in these high-profile events,” McCool told reporters last week. “Still back-to-back NSSEs are a unique situation.”
With the certification out of the way, officials now turn to this week’s elaborate multi-day state funeral proceedings for Carter. That rolls straight into preparations for the Jan. 20 inauguration with officials on alert for potential clashes between Trump’s supporters and opponents; there’s an anti-Trump People’s March scheduled for Saturday the 18th and a pro-Trump rally planned for Sunday the 19th.
“We are committed to upholding the right to peacefully assemble and protest in our city,” Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith said. “However … we will not tolerate any violence, rioting, destruction of property or any behavior that threatens the safety and security of our city.”
Smith said she has placed her department “on full activation” starting Sunday, Jan. 5, positioning “additional officers with specialized training that can be deployed anywhere in the District at a moment’s notice.”
McCool also warned D.C. residents to get used to the sight of numerous security and surveillance drones in the next two weeks. The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones.
Ashley Preston, an associate history professor at D.C.’s Howard University, also cited the specific tensions of this page in American history as adding a layer of anxiety to the proceedings. That includes the deep and angry political divisions that frame Trump’s second term and the two New Year’s attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
“The passing of a former president, and the memorial events that happen afterwards are normal, but the country finds itself in a peculiar moment where political tension is high, which makes everything seem different,” Preston said in an email.
Preston added that her confidence in authorities to handle the events “has honestly been shaken by what I saw on Jan. 6, 2021. If the next few weeks go smoothly, my confidence will be somewhat restored.”
The most immediate question is whether the snowfall will prevent visitors from coming to town to pay their respects to Carter. According to tracking platform FlightAware.com, more than 1,200 flights were canceled or delayed Monday in and out of Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. More than 480 flights were delayed or canceled at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
After the completion of memorial services in his native Georgia, Carter’s casket will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Ceremonies, which continue through Thursday, will include a horse-drawn funeral procession Tuesday afternoon that may echo images from the chilly Nov. 22, 1963, procession for John F. Kennedy.
While those events are still scheduled, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced late Monday that federal offices in the D.C. area would be closed again Tuesday.
The snowfall already has prompted changes in standard White House operating procedure: Instead of flying aboard the Marine One helicopter on Monday, President Joe Biden was forced to drive to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to board Air Force One. In a move reminiscent of secret presidential trips to war zones, Biden’s trip to New Orleans and Los Angeles began inside a hangar, rather than on the tarmac as is customary, due to the inclement weather. Air Force One was sheltered from the snow inside a secure hangar and Biden departed during an early afternoon lull in the snowfall.
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Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Fatima Hussein and Darlene Superville in Washington, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.