Park Service Shuts Down Monuments Amid Threats: Inaugural Update

(Bloomberg) -- The National Park Service is shutting down national monuments in D.C. until after inauguration. Maryland’s governor plans to send the National Guard to help during inauguration.

There are nine days until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

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Park Service Shuts Down Washington Monument Tours Amid Threats

The National Park Service is shutting down tours of the Washington Monument until after Biden’s inauguration.

Amid “credible threats to visitors and park resources,” an agency statement said it will close the D.C. monument through Jan. 24.

The National Park Service will also temporarily close other facilities, such as parking areas and roads, noting that the groups that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 “continue to threaten to disrupt” the inauguration.

The agency said the temporary closures could be extended if threats persist, potentially affecting public access to roads, parking areas and restrooms within the National Mall, which stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, and nearby monuments. -- Peyton Forte

Maryland Plans to Send National Guard for Inauguration (12:20 p.m.)

Maryland expects to add “several hundred more” troops to its National Guard force helping to protect U.S. Capitol in neighboring Washington, D.C., Governor Larry Hogan says. The state already has sent 500 Guard members to Washington, the Republican governor added.

Hogan, who was stymied in efforts to send troops to help during last week’s attack on the Capitol, said he will be speaking with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and the FBI.

Without giving specifics, Hogan said the state government is taking additional security measures at the state house complex in Annapolis.

Officials are dealing with “tons of security issues” in state and in U.S. capital, he said at a briefing. -- Todd Shields