President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration: Secret Service hires pricey security company for $7.5M for ceremony
Secret Service has reportedly hired an expensive security company to cover President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20. The company, identified as Showcall Security Services, according to federal procurement documents obtained by TMZ, has scored a $7.5 million contract for the job.
A division of Showcall, named Checkmate, is set to be deployed during the inauguration. The division reportedly boasts "temporary deployable security assets" that create "hardened perimeters," which can stop vehicle-borne threats and attempted weapons hand-offs of people who get past checkpoints, the outlet reported. The company's division also notes that they provide "robust access control programs and cutting edge surveillance and threat detection systems" that use data analytics.
Checkmate's other offers for large-scale events include a mobile command post, all types of tactical barriers, anti-scale fencing, golf carts and gators, light towers, traffic control, mobile power generation, tenting, and portable bathrooms. The news of the pricey security company comes days after it was reported that the Democrat leader's inauguration ceremony will be scaled-down in comparison to events in the past years because of the coronavirus pandemic. The safety protocol at the event will also be designed to prevent a superspreader scenario. The scale of the ceremony was recently announced by Biden's Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) as they said that January's event will have an "extremely limited" footprint. The PIC also announced that the parade after the swearing-in ceremony will also be "reimagined."
The PIC, however, said that despite multiple alterations, some traditions will continue like Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris taking their oaths outside the Capitol. The PIC, however, has urged the public to not travel to the National Mall for a huge gathering and instead participate in the activities of the inauguration from their homes by viewing it on the television.
Meanwhile, Biden, earlier this month, revealed that he wants President Donald Trump to attend his inauguration in January, shake his hand and let the country move on. The Democrat also talked about the role his family will play in the White House and said that his son Hunter will not pursue any business opportunities that would be in conflict of interest while he is president. Biden made the statement during his first joint interview with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on CNN as they talked about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the role Harris will play in the administration.
Biden also talked about the incumbent and said that he hopes Trump will be standing on the inauguration platform on January 20, so they can demonstrate to the world a peaceful transfer of power. "I think it would be important only in one sense - not in a personal sense important - in the sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that he's created that there is peaceful transfer of power, with the competing parties, standing there, shaking hands, and moving on. I really worry about the image we're presenting to the rest of the world," Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The President-elect added that Trump's attendance at the inauguration ceremony would be important for the United States. "I think is important but it is totally his decision, and it's no personal consequence to me. But I do think it is in the country," the Democrat leader said. President Trump, over a month after Election Day, has still refused to concede the 2020 presidential election to Biden, the winner of the electoral college and the popular vote. The Republican and his campaign have alleged a "rigged" election and massive voter fraud, however, they are yet to present any evidence to back their claims.