Posts tagged with "Mayor Muriel Bowser"

Above, Trump over the weekend threatened to prosecute donors, lawyers, and elections officials whom he claimed “cheated” in the 2020 election. (Photo source: Al Jazeera)

Department of Homeland Security will treat next January 6 as National Special Security Event

September 12, 2024

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has designated the counting and certification of electoral votes of the upcoming presidential race by Congress, a National Special Security Event, the U.S. Secret Service announced on Wednesday, September 11.

This is the first time the certification event, scheduled for January 6, 2025, has been granted this designation, reports HuffPost

The move, which appears to be an effort to avoid a repeat of the violence seen on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, was first reported by The Washington Post.

“National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said in a statement.

aghan added that the agency “in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners, [is] committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.”

The designation follows a request by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, the agency said. Reports by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection and the Government Accountability Office had also made a similar recommendation.

The Executive Steering Committee—comprising representatives from federal, state, and local law enforcement and public safety partners—already has began planning for the event, which will mark four years since the Capitol riot.

Over 1,470 people have been charged with offenses related to the January 6 insurrection, according to The Associated Press.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has suggested he would pardon the rioters if he wins in November.

The presidential inauguration, scheduled for January. 20, 2025, also has been designated a National Special Security Event, as were the two party conventions over the summer.

During Tuesday night’s ABC News presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump suggested he had no regrets about any of his actions on January 6—pinning the blame for the violence that unfolded at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

The former president also, once again, refused to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 election.

Research contact: @HuffPost

Photo source: Hitched UK

‘I Do’s’ and don’ts: D.C. mayor bans dancing at weddings

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May 4, 2021

Brides and grooms won’t be dancing the night away at their Washington, D.C.-based weddings this spring and summer, Fox News reports.

In fact, on May 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser, announced that indoor and outdoor weddings this season will be capped at 25% capacity (with a waiver required for more than 250 guests)—and absolutely no shaking a leg, unless it’s to jump over a broom or stomp on a glass, as is traditional at Black and Jewish weddings, respectively.

“Attendees and guess must remain seated and socially distanced from each other, or other household groups,”  the order passed by the mayor stated. The ban on dancing at all weddings, both indoor and outdoor, began on Saturday.

“It’s insane, it’s been an absolute roller coaster,” says Stephanie Sadowski, a D.C. wedding planner and owner of SRC Events. Sadowski says couples are being forced to move their weddings outside of the nation’s capital with just one or two week’s notice.

“They want to have a party. Planning their wedding, they’ve made concessions along the way; they’ve reduced, reduced and reduced their guest count in Washington, D.C,” she says.

In a statement to local affiliate Fox 5 DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said it has the dancing ban in place as an extra layer of safety to reduce the spread of COVID-19, because when people stand and dance their behavior changes. For example, people are more likely to get close and touch each other. 

“It’s very confusing why Washington, D.C., is singling that out,” says Sadowski.

What’s more, D.C. is not the only state evacuating the dance floor: Illinois and Michigan have similar bans. New York and New Jersey just recently eased their restrictions on dancing.

It is unclear how long the dancing ban will be in place in D.C., but in the meantime Sadowski says her couples are turning to nearby Virginia and Maryland to celebrate their big day.

Research contact: @FoxNews