US riots: DC mayor calls for 'pre-disaster declaration' as inauguration fears grow

Security fencing is installed around the Capitol grounds on January 7. Photo / AP

District of Columbia mayor Muriel Bowser is seeking increased security around President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration in the wake of the mob insurrection at the Capitol.

"We believe strongly that the 59th presidential inauguration on January 20 will require a very different approach than previous inaugurations given the chaos, injury, and death experienced at the United States Capitol during the insurrection," Bowser wrote in a letter to Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security.

She asked for a "pre-disaster declaration" for the District to allow for federal assistance.

Bowser cited "new threats from insurgent acts of domestic terrorists" and asked that the security period around the inauguration be extended from Monday through January 24 and that the Capitol be included in the perimeter. She is urging that any applications for demonstrations be denied during that period.

The letter was dated Saturday and released Sunday (Monday NZT).

After hearing President Donald Trump repeat his baseless claims that the election was stolen from him, rioters broke into the Capitol last Thursday as lawmakers were voting to certify Biden's victory. Five died, including a Capitol police officer.

Trump has not taken responsibility for his actions, and the House is considering possible impeachment.

Pro-Trump rioters storm the Capitol building on January 6. Photo / AP

The District of Columbia does not have jurisdiction over the Capitol and other federal property within its borders.

In her letter to Wolf, Bowser asked for co-ordination with the Defence and Justice departments, Congress and the Supreme Court to develop a security plan for all federal properties. "Consistent with established protocols and practices, it is the primary responsibility of the federal government to secure federal property in these situations," she wrote.

Military personnel stand guard outside the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on January 8. Photo / AP

Doing so, she said, will enable the Metropolitan Police Department "to focus on its local mission".

During Thursday's rioting, insurrectionists carrying Trump's false message about the election pushed past Capitol police to gain access to the Capitol. Members of Congress have called for an investigation, and the chief of the Capitol Police and the Sergeants at Arms of the House and the Senate have been ousted.