BOSTON — States across the country continue to remain on high alert for potential violence ahead of the Presidential Inauguration on Wednesday.
In Massachusetts, security was tightened but the weekend was quiet.
On Sunday, Boston Police put up metal fences surrounding the front entrance to the building.
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At the State House in Boston, plexiglass was installed over several windows along Park Street.
Barricades were also put up to close block off roads for several hours.
“We had a large deployment of officers that probably weren’t seen today in Boston, that were standing by should large crowds show up, and had the ability to respond,” explained security expert and former Boston Police Superintendent, Daniel Linskey.
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Linskey said that he believes Massachusetts will likely stay quiet in the coming days, but that recent widescale security at the US Capitol is necessary.
“The Capitol region is where if anything is going to occur, my information, my intel, and my gut would tell me it would be down there in that area,” he said.
Linskey elaborated and said that people can expect to see a large number of uniformed officers ahead of the Inauguration, in order to deter people from going.
“Even now, I think the overwhelming show of force would probably have disincentivized some people who might have decided they want to go down and do something.”
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He added that a second line of defense is controlling who has access and is going in and out.
“Lives were lost in the Capitol building, and no one wants to take that chance again, so they’re deploying an overwhelming show of force.”
Linskey compared the show of force to a championship sports game in Boston.
“Some nights we would have 3,000 cops out there. And if the team lost, all the kids went home and put their heads down, went to bed and went to school the next day. If they won, we had 200,000 college kids out screaming and yelling, and we were trying to prevent them from creating harm to each other, and vandalism and property damage,” he explained.
While he said he’s confident in the safety measures already in place, he added said that tight security will have to continue past the inauguration.
“It’s different, it’s new, it’s raw. Especially after the coming weeks at the Capitol, but it’s absolutely necessary.”
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