Washington D.C. Mayor tells people not to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration

The Mayor of Washington D.C. has told Americans to avoid the city during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration later this month.

Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, asked the Interior Department to cancel public gathering permits, and said people should attend the event virtually instead.

It comes amid widespread anxiety that the mob violence which erupted on Capitol Hill last Wednesday could repeat itself at Mr Biden’s swearing-in ceremony on January 20.

Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Mayor Bowser insisted that her aim was “to protect the District of Columbia from a repeat of the violent insurrection experienced at the Capitol and its grounds."

Five people have been confirmed dead, including one police officer, after thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators broke past Congressional security and occupied the Capitol building.

Ms Bowser also called on outgoing President Donald Trump to declare a pre-emergency declaration for the city in recognition of the "unprecedented challenges" posed by the “domestic terror attack” and the surging cases of coronavirus in the region.

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