Acting House sergeant-at-Arms Timothy P. Blodgett said in an internal memo that his office "is working closely with the US Capitol Police to monitor information related to 4 March, potential protests and demonstration activity surrounding what some have described as the 'true Inauguration Day'," NBC News reported.
According to Blodgett, there are “additional personnel” to "support the safety and security of Members and staff" planned.
He noted, however, that Capitol Police have "no indication that groups will travel to Washington DC to protest or commit acts of violence".
Previously, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith said that some five thousand US National Guard troops will stay in Washington, DC, in early March amid online QAnon conspiracy rumours of possible riots in the capital.
He expressed fears that the QAnon conspiracy theory backers would try to storm the Capitol: “Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on 4 March. OK, now why that's relevant, God knows, at any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on 4 March”. He noted, however, that “Stuff like that circulates all the time” on the internet.
The National Guard was deployed in Washington DC after the Capitol riot on 6 January, tasked with ensuring security during the Biden inauguration ceremony.
On 6 January, a Washington "Stop the Steal" rally in support of then-US president Donald Trump morphed into protests with dozens of people breaking into the Capitol building, disrupting the certification of Electoral College votes being held there that day. Ultimately five people died as a result of the riot.
Trump was accused of “inciting an insurrection” after that and impeached by the US House of Representatives on 13 January. He was later acquitted by the US Senate, which voted 57-43 on 13 February in favour of the measure, short of the 2/3 majority needed to convict Trump.
Trump, who called on supporters to oppose Joe Biden's nomination "peacefully" during the rally, has denied his responsibility for the actions of the protesters, stressing that his remarks were "totally appropriate".
