The Capitol fence originally went up in the lead-up to Inauguration Day, after right-wing violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Tyrone Turner / WAMU/DCist

Unlike its six-month stay following the Jan. 6 insurrection, the fencing that surrounded the Capitol for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address has seen a much shorter life.

By Thursday morning, less than two days after Biden’s address, the fencing was coming down. According to FOX reporter Chad Pergram, the fencing was removed overnight Wednesday. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has frequently criticized the Capitol fencing and introduced a bill that would prohibit permanent installation of one, celebrated the fence’s swift removal.

The reinstallation of the fencing earlier this week was one of several security measures taken ahead of Biden’s joint address to Congress, and the possibility of right-wing protests surrounding it. But the president’s speech went off without a hitch on Tuesday, and a multi-purpose rally on the National Mall that afternoon drew a paltry crowd. (It was chaotically titled a “Peaceful Demonstration/Assembly! Christian music/speakers against mandates. Support of Convoys in Canada. Lifting mandates in DC/USA” in a National Park Service permit.)

For weeks, D.C. officials have also been preparing for a potential trucker convoy that was originally expected to reach D.C. around the time of Biden’s speech, but the trucker’s timeline has never been quite clear. Pennsylvania man Bob Bolus threatened to shut down the Beltway with a convoy last week, only for the Beltway to apparently shut him down, as his parade of one 18-wheeler (his own truck) got lost somewhere in Northern Virginia. Bolus ended up turning around and heading back to Scranton without much fanfare.

Another, larger convoy departed California last week, and is expected to reach the D.C. area on Saturday. Last week, the Department of Defense authorized the deployment of 700 National Guard troops to manage traffic in the case of any disruptions, and those troops are slated to stay in the city until at least Monday, March 7, according to The Washington Post. A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office did not immediately return DCist/WAMU’s request for comment on additional preparations for the convoy’s potential arrival this weekend.

Filed Under: capitol fence, general assignment, state of the union, trucker convoy,