Washington can expect a "new normal" — even after Biden's inauguration
15 January 2021
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Friday that the city should expect a "new normal" for security — even after President-elect Biden's inauguration.
The state of play: Inaugurations are usually a point of celebration in D.C., but over 20,000 troops are now patrolling Washington streets in an unprecedented preparation for Biden's swearing-in on Jan. 20.
- Fencing surrounds the U.S. Capitol, armored vehicles are deployed and swaths of public transport have been shut down.
Why it matters: New details show that rioters were just minutes away from reaching lawmakers. Posts on right-wing social media show that Vice President Pence was a primary target of the attack.
- The Washington Post reports that Pence's evacuation route put him mere seconds away from being within eyesight of the mob.
- A Capitol Police officer potentially saved the vice president from harm by luring protesters in the wrong direction.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosiargued on Friday that "we've really lost our innocence in this."
- She suggests there may be a need to prosecute members of Congress who aided rioters in the raid — showcasing an extraordinary degree of distrust within America's legislative branch.
The bottom line: Biden says he's "not afraid" to take his oath of office outside — but there are obvious concerns for his safety next week.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.