President-elect Joe Biden is confident his upcoming inauguration ceremony will be safe.
A reporter asked Biden while he was delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday if he feels safe about his inauguration based on the intelligence he has received.
“Yes,” he replied.
Watch the video below:
As Biden walks out of press briefing, reporter calls out question asking if he feels safe about his inauguration based on intelligence he's received
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 15, 2021
"Yes," he says https://t.co/xhUUdPTHtQ pic.twitter.com/Q2ThdHJdMI
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Biden was asked if he was “afraid” of taking the oath of office outside after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, as IJR previously reported.
“No. No, I’m not. I am not afraid to take the oath outside, and we’ve been getting briefed,” Biden said.
He added, “I think it’s critically important that there be a real serious focus on holding those folks, who engaged in sedition and threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable. I think that’s a view that’s held by the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Congress.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray indicated there has been “an extensive amount of concerning online chatter” about threats surrounding the inauguration, as IJR previously reported.
“We’re concerned about the potential for violence at multiple protests and rallies planned here in D.C., and at state capitol buildings around the country in the days to come that could bring armed individuals within close proximity to government buildings and officials,” Wray said during a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, D.C..
The National Park Service announced it would be closing down the National Mall, and other U.S. landmarks in Washington up until at least Jan. 21, as IJR previously reported.
President Donald Trump issued a statement on Wednesday calling for peace amid threats of potential future violence.
“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” Trump said.
He continued, “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
