In the days leading up to the Inauguration of Joe Biden, 26,000 National Guard troops were deployed to fortify the United States Capitol following the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the building on January 6. As threats of more violence placed Washington, D.C., on high alert, photos of soldiers sleeping on the floor of the Capitol, or propped up against its marble columns, went viral. But beyond the startling images of camo-clad troops stationed in the nation’s highest seat of government, the city itself began to seem like a fortress. Here are some scenes from the build-up before and during the Inauguration:
Byron Smith
January 16: National Guard troops march past a mural that remains from the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
Byron Smith
January 16: The National Guard established dozens of vehicle checkpoints throughout the D.C. area, leading to the arrests of two people for carrying unregistered handguns.
Byron Smith
January 19: National Guard members stand behind a barbed-wire fence on the night before the Inauguration.
January 20: Troops meander around the entrance to the Warner Theater, which is less than a ten-minute walk away from the White House.
January 16: The Capitol building at sunrise.
January 19: The Capitol building at sunset, with lights commemorating the 410,000 victims claimed by the coronavirus pandemic so far.
January 20: A supporter, standing in the cold on Pennsylvania Avenue, watches on his phone as President Biden delivers his Inaugural address.