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 Wednesday.
This is the first time the certification event, scheduled for Jan. 6, 2025, has been granted this designation, the agency said.
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.
Ranaghan added that the agency “in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners are 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 Jan. 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, have already 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 Jan. 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 Jan. 20, 2025, has also 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 Jan. 6, pinning the blame for the violence that unfolded at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The former president also, once again, refused to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 election.
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