Washington on high alert ahead of inauguration

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday that she has asked for increased security around the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, requesting that the president declare a pre-emergency disaster, following last week’s deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Bowser also said she sent a letter on Sunday to Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in which she called last week’s assault an “unprecedented terrorist attack," and said Biden’s inauguration on January 20th will require a “different approach.”

Citing continuing threats to disrupt Biden's inauguration from groups involved in last week's pro-Trump riot, the U.S. National Park Service said Monday it has closed the Washington Monument through January 24th.

Likewise, Bowser has asked Wolf to extend the national special security event period in the District of Columbia to run from Monday until January 24th.

Bowser also urged the Department of Homeland security to coordinate with the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court and Congress to establish a federal force deployment plan for all federal property.

Bowser's requests come as the outgoing chief of the U.S. Capitol Police said that his efforts to call in the National Guard were thwarted.

Steven Sund, the former chief of the federal force, told the Washington Post on Sunday that his request for permission to place the National Guard on standby was turned down by House and Senate security officials in the days leading up to the demonstration.

Sund, who will step down from his post on January 16th after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for his resignation, said his request for help was rejected or delayed six times.

PELOSI: "The gleeful desecration of the U.S. Capitol, which is the temple of our American democracy, and the violence targeting Congress are horrors that will forever stain our nation's history."

Five people died in the violence Wednesday including one Capitol Police officer who was beaten as he tried to ward off waves of Trump supporters attempting to disrupt the certification of Biden’s election victory.

A second police officer responding to the attack later died while off duty, but the cause has not been formally released.