A4 THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
THE INAUGURATION
D.C., on edge, sees few security threats
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Troops
in riot gear lined the sidewalks,
but there were no crowds. Ar-
mored vehicles and concrete
barriers blocked empty streets.
Miles of fencing cordoned off
many of the nation’s most fa-
miliar landmarks.
Joe Biden was safely sworn
in as president in a Washington
on edge, two weeks after rioters
loyal to former President Don-
ald Trump besieged the Capitol.
Law enforcement officials
contended not only with the
potential for outside threats
but also with rising concerns
about an insider attack. Offi-
cials monitored members of
far-right extremist and militia
groups, increasingly concerned
about the risk they could
stream into Washington and
spark violent confrontations, a
law enforcement official said.
There were a few scattered
arrests but no major protests or
serious disruptions in the city
during Biden’s inauguration
ceremony.
In the hours before the inau-
guration, federal agents moni-
tored “concerning online chat-
ter,” which included an array of
threats against elected officials
and discussions about ways to
infiltrate the inauguration, the
official said.
In right-wing online chat
groups, believers in the QAnon
conspiracy theory expressed
disappointment that top Dem-
ocrats were not arrested for sex
trafficking and that Trump did
not seize a second term.
Twelve National Guard
members were removed from
the security operation a day
earlier after vetting by the
FBI, including two who had
made extremist statements in
posts or texts about Wednes-
day’s event. Pentagon officials
would not give details on the
statements. The FBI vetted
all 25,000 members in an ex-
traordinary security effort in
part over the presence of some
ex-military in the riot.
John Minchillo/AP
Military personnel march outside the U.S. Capitol the morning of Inau-
guration Day. More than 25,000 troops and police were called to duty.
The National Mall was closed, and checkpoints were set up at intersec-
tions in an unprecedented security lockdown in the nation’s capital.
Inauguration brings hope to some state capital residents
‘Fantastic to see the president ...
denounce and repudiate white
supremacy,’ says Salem business
owner struck by recent vandalism
BY ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — Normally quiet streets around U.S.
state capitol buildings have looked more like bat-
tlegrounds recently, putting those who live and
work there on edge.
More than most people, these Americans will
have front-row seats on whether the change of
leadership Wednesday in the White House will
lead to a lessening of tension that has been af-
flicting the nation. They’ll be watching what the
next chapter brings from storefronts and the
porches and stoops of their own homes.
Their sense of foreboding was lightened, just a
little, by Wednesday’s inauguration. As President
Joe Biden was sworn into office, demonstrations
at state capitols were scant, with only a few pro-
testers showing up, and some cities, none at all.
Some expect Biden’s focus on unity — a word
he used eight times in his inaugural address —
will have an effect, but they say how the people
react will be key.
Jonathan Jones’ front-row seat to what hap-
pens next is his restaurant that is decorated with
Black Lives Matter signs and art near the Ore-
gon State Capitol. Epilogue Kitchen and Cock-
tails has been vandalized by a white suprema-
cist. One day, police showed up as Jones, who
is Black, and his friends were being accosted by
neo-fascist Proud Boys. The police at first con-
fronted Jones’ group as if they were the threat.
Noah Berger/AP
In Salem, Epilogue Kitchen & Cocktails owner Jonathan Jones speaks with a customer while serving free
meals in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Streets around state capitols have looked like bat-
tlegrounds recently. Jones’ business was recently vandalized by a white supremacist.
“There’s not a person who stood with me that
day who didn’t think that they might die,” Jones
said. “And the most awful part was not knowing
if it was going to come from the police or from
the Proud Boys.”
Jones watched Biden’s inauguration on TV, and
in the afterglow called it “a beautiful moment.”
“It was fantastic to see the president of the
United States denounce and repudiate white su-
premacy multiple times and to acknowledge that
we’re long overdue as a country to actually achieve
some form of racial justice,” Jones said. “My hope
Up To
is that things are dealt with quickly, but my ex-
pectation is that it will take quite some time to to
see any actual change.”Brian Henderson, minister
of First Baptist Church of Denver that sits across
an avenue from the shuttered Colorado Capitol,
was so close to the upheavals of 2020 that he was
struck in the left knee with a pepper ball. Hender-
son had been handing out water from the front
steps of his small brick church as thousands bat-
tled police during riots over George Floyd’s killing.
“We can’t let fear stop us from doing what we
have to do,” Henderson said.
50% off
Henderson watched the inaugural with
church staff and then stepped outside to reflect
and bask in the historic moment.
“There was this strong breeze. The sun was
warm. The sky was blue. The air felt fresh. It’s a new
day. We have a new president,” Henderson said.
In Washington, D.C., a restaurant named We,
the Pizza is located just one block from barri-
cades surrounding the U.S. Capitol, where Biden
was sworn in. The pizzeria has been feeding
thousands of National Guard troops and other
security and first responders, using donations
from around the nation.
Manager Rob Earley said a girl around 6 years
old brought in a check for $1,000 on Tuesday —
money she had raised to feed the soldiers.
“I had tears in my eyes,” Earley said. “It’s good
to see people that young that are wanting to be
so involved in what’s going on and wanting to be
part of making change.”
Back in Oregon, Jones has been buoyed by
people coming out in support of his restaurant,
as customers and guardians. On Sunday, Rob-
ert Fox, a glass-blowing artist, sat in his sedan
parked in front of the restaurant, keeping watch
before Jones and his wife, Maura Ryan, showed
up to prepare meals, available only for takeout
during coronavirus shutdowns.
“I’m just making sure nothing happens,” Fox
said as a dozen gun-toting, far-right protesters
stood outside the Capitol, three blocks away.
Jones said actions like that give him hope.
“I think that in spite of how loud the far right
is, I think the bulk of the country is not that,”
Jones said. “And I think that the more that we
can embolden people to show that solidarity and
be willing to stand up and stand next to every-
body and present that unified front, then I think
the quicker we’ll get to the end of this.”
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