28,000 US Secret Service Arranged For Trump Inauguration

The full force of the US domestic security apparatus will be deployed to stand guard as President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office Friday, with an estimated 900,000 people expected to gather in Washington for the inauguration and related activities.

More than 100 square blocks -- about 2.7 square miles -- will be closed to automobile traffic as federal, state and local authorities create a protective bubble around the swearing-in ceremony, presidential festivities and opposition protests. The final tab is expected to surpass $100 million.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said last week at a briefing from a suburban command and control centre that an estimated 28,000 in personnel from the US Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, FBI, US Park Police, US Capitol Police, Coast Guard and local police from Washington and around the nation would be fanned out across the city to provide multiple layers -- and dimensions -- of security.

Despite the absence of a "specific, credible threat," Johnson told reporters the primary focus would be on "individual acts of violent extremism and those who self-radicalize," as have been seen in recent attacks in France and Germany. Dump trucks and buses will be placed in strategic locations to block off large gatherings of pedestrians.

Johnson also estimated that a total of 99 both pro- and anti-Trump groups -- their plans gleaned via permit applications and social media surveillance -- would launch demonstrations over a period beginning Friday and carrying on through Saturday evening.

The Women's March on Washington, which is drawing a vast coalition of anti-Trump groups, could draw upwards of 200,000 people on Saturday. Unseasonably warm temperatures are being forecast -- 51 degrees with evening showers on Friday and a high of 61 degrees on Saturday -- and should help groups reach their more optimistic turnout estimates.