"the world will see there is a very divided United States."
Security for Inauguration to Be Tightest Ever
January 14, 2001
From The New York Times
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 — With thousands of demonstrators expected here next Saturday,
the law enforcement authorities are planning the tightest security
ever for a Presidential inauguration.
Police officers will be stationed every few feet along Pennsylvania Avenue.
For the first time, people going to watch the inaugural parade
will have to pass through checkpoints where bags can be searched
Signs with long handles will be confiscated. And most of the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument will be off limits.
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Others will be protesting what they believe to be faulty election procedures
that led to George W. Bush's victory.
Still others will be demonstrating on issues like the death penalty,
the environment, the minimum wage and aid to Israel.
During the swearing-in ceremony, the National Organization for Women
will hold a rally several blocks away at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue.
While the crowd is gathering at the Capitol for Mr. Bush's swearing in,
the Rev. Al Sharpton plans to lead a march nearby, from Stanton Park
southeast of Union Station to the Supreme Court.
At noon, as Mr. Bush is taking the oath of office,
Mr. Sharpton will take an oath, he said, to uphold the Voting Rights Act
and to establish uniform voting standards across the country.
Then, while Mr. Bush is delivering his Inaugural Address, Mr. Sharpton will give his own
address.
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These will be the first substantial protests during an inauguration since antiwar
demonstrators protested at Richard M. Nixon's second inauguration, in 1973.
The National Park police said then that there were 60,000 protesters.
The demonstrations were mostly orderly, with some minor scuffles and a few arrests.
Protest organizers who have come forward said they did not plan on civil disobedience next week.
"We're going to be noisy, we're going to be seen,
but we're not going to try to shut down the event," said Adam Eidinger,
an organizer for a coordinating group called the Justice Action Movement.
Brian Becker, co-director of the International Action Center,
a New York group that is organizing buses of protesters on the East Coast, said
: "We don't want to be tear-gassed or create a war zone.
As George Bush proceeds up Pennsylvania Avenue and as the eyes of the world focus on this,
the world will see there is a very divided United States
We will be all along the parade route.
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For the first time, the inauguration has been designated a "national special security event,"
which means that the Secret Service is in overall charge of security arrangements.
More than a dozen law enforcement agencies will be involved, including the Capitol police, the Supreme Court police, the National Park police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and police forces from suburban Maryland and Virginia.
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