The air is so tense in Washington, D.C., that if somebody drops something, it prompts an evacuation. Monday morning, Capitol Hill erupted in panic when a homeless man’s belongings went up in flames “a few blocks away.”
Panic at the Capitol
Only days before the official recognition of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the appointed administrators of what many millions of Americans consider an illegitimate government, there were “evacuations from several areas of the Capitol Complex.” The incident was described as an “exterior security threat” to justify ordering staffers to “stay away from windows to the outside.” Legislators are nervous about all the angry people out there and Democrats are doing their best to keep them guessing.
Capitol Hill evacuation was prompted by what turned out to be a fire at a nearby homeless encampment, a law enforcement official says – #Capitol #CapitolHill #BreakingNews #WashingtonState pic.twitter.com/C2mpJvCPYm
— Utkarsh Singh (@utkarshs88) January 18, 2021
As soon as smoke was spotted, police started rushing people out of the “West Front and the crypt, a large circular room that is located directly under the Capitol Rotunda.” Both the House and Senate were in recess all day. Plans for a rehearsal of the upcoming installation ceremony went right out the window as soon as the alert was issued.
Fearing another barbarian invasion, everyone on the Hill was ordered to duck and cover. “Due to an external security threat, stay where you are. Stay away from doors and windows,” loudspeakers blared. Soon word broke on Twitter that “the external security threat is thought to involve a tunnel in DC.” That’s when images of smoke “rising up above and behind the Capitol building” caused total panic.
Half a mile away
The way the twittersphere went crazy, all of Washington was under attack. “The West Front of the Capitol has just been evacuated. We’ve been moved,” Frank Thorp tapped out. “no entry or exit is permitted, stay away from exterior windows, doors. If outside, seek cover.” Then they found out that “the smoke was due to a fire at a homeless encampment under a freeway about a half a mile away.” Josh Caplan provided some detail. “A homeless man under the bridge had his belongings go up in flames.” One follower remarked, “By tomorrow there will be evacuations when car alarms go off.”
BREAKING: Smoke rising behind Capitol building. Inauguration rehearsal appears to be evacuating. Emergency announcement playing at Capitol grounds. pic.twitter.com/86J9S8CsMY
— Jackson Proskow (@JProskowGlobal) January 18, 2021
At least 25,000 National Guardsmen are all set to defend the Capitol from American citizens on Wednesday. The way things look this week in Washington, it reminds everyone of when Egypt went to the polls in November of 2010. Back then, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit and Director of Defense Intelligence, Omar Soliman to plan the strategy. At the time, Hillary’s press flack released a statement “that meekly called for transparent elections and the participation of international observers.” As described by the Washington Institute, “the Egyptian government reacted as if it had been stabbed with a hot iron, howling at U.S. interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.”
The fact, the think tank writes, “is the elections in no way meet international standards and cannot be seen as performing the legitimating function elections are supposed to play.” Americans surrounding the Capitol in D.C. feel much the same way. According to Fikra Forum member Dina Guirguis, “the legal framework for the elections effectively prevents any real competition while the abdication of the High Election Commission responsibilities to the Ministry of Interior means that the elections can be manipulated in any number of ways.” Hmmm, you don’t say. “The National Democratic Party seeks to use these elections to legitimize its government program.” It almost sounds like prophesy to read the words from a decade ago. “The regime’s hope, it seems to me, is to get through these elections as quickly and as violence-free as possible so that they can claim a huge mandate for themselves.”