The National Park Service (NPS) announced that it is temporarily closing most parts of the National Mall beginning Friday through at least the day after President-elect Joe Biden
Joe BidenConfirmation hearing for Biden’s DNI pick postponed Biden’s Sunday inauguration rehearsal postponed due to security concerns: report Murkowski says it would be ‘appropriate’ to bar Trump from holding office again MORE’s inauguration next week.
The announcement comes after the agency initially said Thursday that it had not yet made a final decision on closures after news outlets reported that the entire area would be restricted due to security concerns surrounding inaugural ceremonies.
In a press release Friday, the park service announced that at the request and in coordination with the Secret Service, it had decided to “implement a temporary public closure of the National Mall beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 15 and extending through at least Thursday, January 21.”
The release added that “permitted First Amendment activities in designated locations will be allowed,” with areas near the U.S. Navy Memorial and John Marshall Park reserved as demonstration areas for those with permits.
The park service added that only a limited number of people will be allowed into these demonstration areas, with each person being screened prior to entry.
Outside of these designated areas, the park service has ordered the temporary closure of all other National Mall property within the “National Special Security Event” area designated by the Department of Homeland Security for Biden’s inauguration.
The press release, along with the full Record of Determination for the temporary closure, includes a list of all streets and locations that are included in the restricted areas.
NPS added that all individuals working on the inaugural events must go through a Secret Service clearance process, and an area near the locations reserved for demonstrators will be set aside for members of the media, who are also required to go through a formal clearance process.
Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Park, said in a statement that the closures are meant “to protect our city during the inaugural period.”
“Working together, the National Park Service, mayor’s office, the Metropolitan Police Department, United States Secret Service and all of our local and federal law enforcement and public safety partners, have developed a plan to ensure for the safety of our Nation’s capital, city residents and monuments and memorials on the National Mall,” Reinbold added.
Officials have been implementing aggressive security measures in areas surrounding the Capitol and National Mall following last week’s violent riot at the Capitol, with the FBI warning of the possibility of continued violence surrounding Biden’s inauguration.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is closing more than a dozen stations around the National Mall and Capitol complex in the days before and after the inauguration.
Airbnb also announced on Wednesday that it was canceling all D.C. metro area reservations during the week of Biden’s inauguration amid concerns of potentially violent demonstrations.
