Armed 'uprising’ feared in Washington DC if Trump removed via 25th Amendment before Biden inauguration: FBI
A report has stated that the FBI presumes a “huge uprising” can happen in Washington, D.C. if Donald Trump is removed by invoking the 25th amendment before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. An FBI daily bulletin obtained by ABC News mentioned that officers have received information that if “Congress attempts to remove Potus via the 25th Amendment a huge uprising will occur”. The report also stated that Trump supporters are intending to target state, federal, and local government buildings as well as courthouses if POTUS is expelled from the office before Joe Biden’s inauguration.
"Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January," the bulletin pronounced as reported by The Independent. The news of the “huge uprising” came after the House of Representatives introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of encouraging mobs to march down the Capitol building last week that killed five people, including police officer Brian D. Sicknick.
Meanwhile, House Republicans blocked a Democratic measure calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the Trump cabinet to remove the POTUS by invoking the 25th Amendment, delaying consideration until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the National Parks Service (NPS) said tours of the Washington Monument have been canceled until 24 January after it received “credible threats” following Capitol riots on January 6.
In a statement, Jeffrey P Reinbold, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said, “The temporary closures are not of nature, magnitude or duration that will result in a 'significant alteration in the public use pattern.' The closures will not adversely affect the park’s natural aesthetic or cultural values.”
According to reports, after the riot broke out last week, around 6,200 National Guard Troops from six states were deployed at D.C. A “non-scalable” 7 feet fence was also placed at the building and it has been said it will be there until Biden takes office. Senior military officials said military presence will increase to 10,000 National Guard troops by the end of this week. However, there is a possibility that the number of troops could increase to 15,000 by inauguration day, General Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said.
Hokanson, however, said the final number will be finalized by the support needs of federal agencies. During a media conference call, he said: “Obviously, we’re very concerned that we want our individuals to have the right to self-defense. And so, that will be an ongoing conversation, and if the senior leadership determines that that’s the right posture to be in, then that is something that we will do.”
Washington DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser also asked people to avoid the city on January 20. “If I'm scared of anything, it's for our democracy, because we have very extreme factions in our country that are armed and dangerous. Our goals right now are to encourage Americans to participate virtually and to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent insurrection experienced at the Capitol and its grounds on 6 January,” Bowser said at a Monday press conference.
Earlier, Twitter while banning Trump from its platform had warned of more armed protests in the future. A statement from Twitter noted, “Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”