Washington, D.C

DC readies for Trump inauguration with massive security plans

Published

2 weeks ago

November 12, 2024

DC readies for Trump inauguration with massive security plans

DC officials discuss Presidential Inauguration security

Ahead of the January inauguration, D.C. leaders say they are committed to the peaceful transfer of power and the security measures they have been tasked to handle. FOX 5’s Lili Zheng has the latest.

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the January inauguration, D.C. leaders say they are committed to the peaceful transfer of power and the security measures they have been tasked to handle.

At a briefing Tuesday, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said her team and other partners have been planning for the January 20 inauguration since mid-summer.

Agencies across the country have been intentional about supporting D.C. law enforcement, Chief Smith said.

“We hope we can get to 4,000 police officers to assist us in this process. We are close to that number. We do have other agencies who are continuing to reach out to us. As they reach out, we will accept their request to provide mutual aid support for the District of Columbia during the inauguration process,” Smith said Tuesday.

Along with the January 20 inauguration, the 2025 Counting and Certification of Electoral Votes has been set for January 6.

“Certainly, working with the D.C. government agencies [including] fire and EMS, OUC, which are the parameters and nerve center here for the District of Columbia, we continue to prepare with our internal agencies on a regular basis,” Smith said. “With our federal partners, we have been meeting on a bi-weekly basis. Sometimes, a weekly basis to determine what intelligence information that may arise, not just in D.C. but across the U.S.”

Smith added Tuesday, that the department is also tracking other potentially large-scale events.

“Currently, we’re tracking I think four major…if you want to call it…major events as it relates to First Amendment activity. As you know, this is nothing new to the MPD. We handle large protests and demonstrations, not just coming on the heels of a January 6th certification of the elections and inauguration, but we do this year-round,” she said. “We signed up for this job. We understand the risks are and what’s associated with this, and as with any protests and demonstrations, we will be prepared to address what comes with that.”

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office, there are questions surrounding what a second Trump term could look like for the district. D.C. Mayor Muriel said her office has requested a meeting with the president-elect.

“We have been discussing and planning for many months in the case that the District has to defend itself and its values on all regards. In terms of what we should know is that we’re still a country of laws and the district has home rule and the congress could change it, they could. It is possible. That is probably, as you mentioned, not a likely occurrence,” Mayor Bowser said. “What I think is important for all DC residents to recognize, we’re not in a new place. We’ve been in this place before. What we have done, is we have followed the law and we defended ourselves and that would be our approach in any further occurrence.”

‘Home rule’ refers to the law signed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon, which created a local government for Washington, D.C. It granted DC residents the ability to elect a mayor and council, but Congress retained the power to overrule local legislation and D.C. residents remained without a vote in Congress.

Trump has also been vocal on the intention to overhaul federal departments and agencies by firing “corrupt actors in [the] National Security and Intelligence apparatus” and moving as many as 100,000 government positions out of D.C.

Bowser said some of those are not in D.C. proper and would welcome a meeting on the federal workforce.

“There is a lot that our region offers to attract and retain and have a productive federal workforce, so we’re going to make our pitch,” she said Tuesday.

On inauguration safety, a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service released the following statement to FOX 5 on Tuesday:

“We continue to work closely with our law enforcement and public safety partners as we plan for the 2025 Counting and Certification of Electoral Votes on Jan. 6, and the 2025 Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, both of which have been designated National Special Security Events. More details, including the security perimeter and road closures, will be released a few weeks prior to each event.”

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Washington, D.C

New mural dedicated to DC’s ‘Mayor for Life’ honors career, contributions of Marion Barry – WTOP News

Published

38 mins ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

New mural dedicated to DC’s ‘Mayor for Life’ honors career, contributions of Marion Barry – WTOP News

Ten years to the day after his death, D.C. leaders honored the life of the late Mayor Marion Barry with a new mural hanging in his namesake building.

The first panel of a new mural dedicated to Marion Barry, titled “Big Vision,” focuses on the late DC mayor’s early career as a civil rights activist.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)

WTOP/Luke Lukert

Community members gathered Saturday to watch Mayor Muriel Bowser and Barry’s widow, Cora Masters Barry, unveil the new mural.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)

Ten years to the day after his death, D.C. leaders honored the life of the late Mayor Marion Barry with a new mural hanging in his namesake building.

Mayor Muriel Bowser joined the former D.C. First Lady at the Marion S. Barry, Jr. Building in Judiciary Square on Saturday to pull the curtain down, revealing the new mural dedicated to the “Mayor for Life.”

“My husband really loved Washington, DC and its residents. The mural captures some of the major contributions he made to the City, and some of the people who worked with him to help build the City and empower its residents,” said Cora Masters Barry, Barry’s widow, in a statement.

“I was thrilled that so many residents and visitors were able to join us on this inspirational, entertaining, educational, and historical day, as we honored a man, Marion Barry Jr., whose legacy and love of this city was so deep and strong.”

The mural is broken into three parts, each with a different title and focusing on a different aspect of Barry’s life.

The first panel, titled “Big Vision,” displays Barry’s early years as a civil rights activist and his transition into politics.

The center panel, “Big Impact,” then focuses on his time in office as a Councilmember and four term mayor.

These sections emphasize Barry’s support for Black-owned businesses, summer jobs for youth, programs for seniors and leadership opportunities for women.

The last section of the mural is titled ”Big Legacy.” It highlights the influence Barry still has on the city — showcasing advocacy against apartheid, support for the Million Man March, contributions to the development of the MCI Center, and his work with the DC Control Board.

The many pictures show Barry beside the likes of President Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

Another focus of this panel is Barry’s political comeback after a high-profile arrest and conviction on crack cocaine possession charges in 1990. Four years later, he returned to the Mayor’s office after a commanding primary run.

“He told me a lot of things, and he taught us a lot of things, but one of the biggest ones was if you get knocked down, you get back up,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser at the unveiling.

Nabeeh Bilal, an artist based in Ward 8, created the mural.

“You’ll notice that there is not a single solo image of Marion Barry, and that’s because, with his accomplishments and achievements, it was always about others,” Bilal said.

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Washington, D.C

Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas to Visit Washington, DC, On International Tour

Published

9 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas to Visit Washington, DC, On International Tour

Friday’s event will begin with a solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, followed by an opportunity to venerate the relics.

The major relics of St. Thomas Aquinas, “The Angelic Doctor,” are on tour and scheduled to make a stop in Washington, D.C., next weekend as part of the commemoration of the 700th anniversary of his canonization.

Members of the faithful will be able to venerate the relics, including his skull, on two separate occasions: first at St. Dominic’s Church on Friday, Nov. 29, and then again on Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Dominican House of Studies. The event is co-sponsored by the Thomistic Institute.

“In a time of renewed interest in the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, the jubilees of his canonization (700 years in 2023), death (750 years in 2024), and birth (800 years in 2025) draw our attention to the masterwork of wisdom and sanctity which God wrought in him,” Dominican Father Gregory Pine, assistant director at the Thomistic Institute, said in a press release.

“The opportunity that we have to receive and venerate his relics makes this grace all the more proximate and precious to us,” Father Pine added.

Friday’s event will begin at 12:10 p.m. with a solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, followed by an opportunity to venerate the relics of the revered theologian and philosopher from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will also be solemn vespers at 5:30 p.m. and night prayer at 6:45 p.m. with a Marian procession to follow.

On Saturday, the Dominican House of Studies will begin the day with solemn lauds and a votive Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas at 7:30 a.m., and veneration of the relics will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pine will also preach at 3 p.m. that day.

“‘Get wisdom, get understanding’ (Prv 4:5). One way is to study, another way is to pray for it, but an exceptional way is to pray for it in the presence of the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas,” Dominican Father James Brent, an assistant professor of philosophy at the Dominican House of Studies, also stated in the release.

The relic of St. Thomas Aquinas’ skull comes to the U.S. from the Dominicans in Toulouse, France, and is one of two skulls Church officials claim to have belonged to the 11th-century saint. The other is housed in the Italian city of Priverno. The Dominicans in France commissioned a new reliquary for the skull last year to celebrate the saint’s canonization anniversary.

After Aquinas’ death in 1274, his body was kept in Fossanova Abbey in Priverno until 1369, when his relics were moved to Toulouse, a city in southwestern France, where the Order of Preachers was established. Aquinas’ tomb rests in the Church of the Jacobins.

Researchers are currently weighing the possibility of conducting an in-depth forensic analysis of both skulls to determine their authenticity.

Where do the relics go next?

After two stops in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30, Aquinas’ relics hit the road for their U.S. tour:

Charlottesville, Virginia: St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 2

Providence, Rhode Island: Providence College on Dec. 4

Cincinnati: St. Gertrude Priory on Dec. 6

Columbus, Ohio: St. Patrick Priory on Dec. 7–8

Louisville, Kentucky: St. Louis Bertrand on Dec. 10

Springfield, Kentucky: St. Rose Priory on Dec. 12

New York City: St. Vincent Ferrer on Dec. 14

Philadelphia: St. Patrick on Dec. 16

Baltimore: Sts. Philip and James on Dec. 18

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Washington, D.C

DC brothers freed after wrongful murder convictions seek presidential pardon

Published

17 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

DC brothers freed after wrongful murder convictions seek presidential pardon

Two brothers who spent decades in prison after being convicted of a 1984 murder in Washington, D.C., they say they did not commit, are seeking a presidential pardon.

Charles and Chris Turner were convicted as teenagers for the killing of Catherine Fuller in Northeast Washington, D.C. near the intersection of 8th and H Street, Fox 5 DC reported.

They have since been released and are fighting for a pardon that would help restore their rights.

“With the pardon, we get a chance to fix all that and bring a closure to this case once and for all,” Chris Turner told Fox 5 DC.

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Charles and Chris Turner were convicted as teenagers for the killing of Catherine Fuller in Northeast Washington, D.C. near the intersection of 8th and H Street. (iStock)

After decades in custody for a crime which they did not commit, the brothers maintain a positive view on the future and the impact they can have moving forward, stressing that they will not allow their case to mentally hold them back.

“People get upset more that we’re not bitter,” Chris Turner said. “We think if you remain bitter, remain upset about what occurred – even though it was an atrocity and it was injustice – that you stay locked up mentally.”

The case revealed allegations of suppressed evidence, coerced testimony and investigative errors.

Seventeen people were arrested in connection with Fuller’s murder, with eight ultimately convicted, according to Fox 5 DC. The six who are still alive all maintain their innocence after collectively serving more than 200 years behind bars.

HEAD OF DC PRESCHOOL ARRESTED AFTER DIRECTING UNDERCOVER OFFICER ‘TO ABUSE HIS CHILD,’ JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS

The Turner brothers have become involved in their community and remain hopeful about their futures, although limitations in areas such as career prospects remain due to their felony records.

“We’ve actually said we might join the police force if we didn’t have this on our record … I used to want to be in the Navy. I can’t serve my country because I have a record,” Charles Turner said.

The brothers’ fight for a pardon represents a crucial step in restoring their reputation and rights lost in the convictions.

The case revealed allegations of suppressed evidence, coerced testimony and investigative errors. (iStock)

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Charles Turner said he believes a pardon would bring validation to himself and the other five convicted men, as well as to his family, friends and others who have supported him.

“It would also validate – help to validate – what they know, not what they believe, but what they know. There’s a big difference there,” he said.

Most presidential pardons have been granted between Election Day and Inauguration Day.

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