By Several local police departments in the Washington, D.C. area have declined to assist the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) with security for the 2025 Presidential Inauguration. This decision has left MPD with a reduced pool of officers for the high-profile event, highlighting growing tensions between MPD and neighboring law enforcement agencies. While MPD has assured the public that thousands of officers will still manage security, some departments have withdrawn, citing unresolved issues with MPD’s memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Other departments, such as those in Howard and Queen Anne’s counties, have also opted out, referencing staffing constraints and technical difficulties. Agencies like Anne Arundel County, Maryland State Police, and Prince George’s County have stated their support will be directed toward the U.S. Capitol Police rather than MPD. This trend suggests that the issue lies in strained relations with MPD rather than opposition to the event. Only Frederick City in Maryland and Loudoun County in Virginia have committed officers to assist, offering 20 and 30 personnel, respectively, according to a report by The Daily Caller.
While MPD claimed thousands of officers will assist with security, several local departments told the Caller they will not be helping. Most were vague with their reasons for skipping this year’s inauguration, but one department confirmed in an email that it was because of a dispute over a memorandum of understanding (MOU), or agreement between departments, with MPD.
“I was just told that based on the current MOU, we will not be assisting Metro PD,” a spokesperson for Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland told the Caller.
MCPD was not the only department to make that decision.
This reduction in support has raised concerns about MPD’s capacity to effectively secure the inauguration. Sources familiar with the event’s planning have indicated that MPD’s strategy includes the redeployment of its officers, allowing other jurisdictions to manage potential incidents like civil unrest. With the ceremony being relocated to the Capitol Rotunda, reportedly due to weather, the Capitol Police are expected to take on a larger role in this year’s security operations.
In 2017, radical activists launched a violent attack on the capital during Trump’s first inauguration.
CNN reported at the time that “six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested Friday after a morning of peaceful protests and coordinated disruptions of Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony gave way to ugly street clashes in downtown Washington.
At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Acting DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said the officers’ injuries were considered minor and not life threatening.
Bursts of chaos erupted on 12th and K streets as black-clad “antifascist” protesters smashed storefronts and bus stops, hammered out the windows of a limousine and eventually launched rocks at a phalanx of police lined up in an eastbound crosswalk. Officers responded by launching smoke and flash-bang devices, which could be heard from blocks away, into the street to disperse the crowds.
“Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property,” police said.
Anti-Trump protests also broke out Friday in US cities, including New York, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.“
Heightened security concerns for the inauguration have been acknowledged by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Matt McCool, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, has described the event as occurring in a “higher-threat environment” and confirmed that planning has been underway for a year. Around 25,000 military personnel and law enforcement officers are expected to be deployed for the event.
Several attempts have been made on Donald Trump’s life in the past 6 months and intelligences sources have claimed that Iran has been targeting the president-elect for some time.
On Friday, authorities announced that the inauguration will be moved inside the Capitol Rotunda, according to ABC News.
“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade,” Trump added. “I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.”
Due to this change, the “vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person,” according to the Joint Inaugural Committee. “Those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.”
“We strongly suggest people who are in Washington for the event attend other indoor events at indoor venues of their choice to watch the inauguration,” the committee said.
U.S. Capitol Police anounced that the ticketed outside areas on the West Front of the Capitol will be closed during the inauguration. The Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies working to secure the inauguration “will still have a heightened security posture with an increased law enforcement presence and layers of physical security,” Capitol Police said.
Only Congress and the Senate will be allowed inside, which has led some to speculate that security threats have been made, though officials have pointed to the cold weather as the reason for moving the event.
