Travel Snapshot: QAnon’s March 4 Threat Has Washington, D.C. On High Alert

Two months after supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. is still telling residents and tourists to remain vigilant. The city is on high alert for potential violence tomorrow.

The U.S. Capitol Police has “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4,” according to a statement. A bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI says the group discussed plans in February to “take control of the U.S. Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4.”

As a result, the U.S. House of Representatives abruptly canceled its session tomorrow.

While the militia group has not been named by law enforcement, tomorrow’s date is significant for QAnon adherents, some of whom believe that Trump will be inaugurated on March 4. Conspiracy theorists look for signs from Trump, and when his Washington, D.C. hotel recently tripled its rates for March 3 and 4, many saw it as a sort of validation.

“Raising room prices will surely be interpreted by QAnon as Trump’s support for the March 4 narrative,” said Jason Blazakis, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center and an expert in domestic extremism.

Travelers flying into the region will notice more security at the three Washington-area airports. “TSA’s security posture changes, based off of the threat environment,” said a TSA spokesperson. “Travelers will notice more law enforcement and K-9 presence as a result.”

Once inside the city, visitors will experience a heightened level of security, especially near Capitol Hill, where fencing topped with razor wire skirts the perimeter of the Capitol complex.

Nearly two months after the January 6 riot, nearly 5,000 National Guard troops remain in the District and will continue to stay until at least March 12. That’s a huge drop from the roughly 26,000 guardsmen who were in the city for President Biden’s inauguration. 

The Pentagon is currently reviewing a request from the Capitol Police to keep National Guard troops at the U.S. Capitol for another two months.

In addition, Washington’s police chief said his department was deploying more police around the city to ensure public safety.

“The safety of our visitors is our top priority,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of the city’s tourism organization. “Destination D.C. works closely with D.C.’s Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, the Metropolitan Police Department and other local and federal government agencies to understand and communicate safety messages to visitors and our local industry stakeholders.”

“Like our partners, Destination D.C. is taking the intelligence seriously and follows the lead of those charged with protecting our city and country, as an increase in Capitol Police has been widely reported and Mayor Bowser has called for people to report suspicious activity,” said Ferguson.

On the eve of March 4, over a dozen hotels near Capitol Hill — including the Trump International — appear to have availability based on reservation queries conducted by phone.

There was one exception in this sample set. The Grand Hyatt Washington, which enjoys a stellar location on H Street just a handful of blocks from the White House, reported being sold out for the nights of March 3th and 4th.

The same hotel had received the wrong kind of publicity when Bloomberg reporter William Turton shot a video in the lobby in the hours following the riot on January 6. His clip showed clusters of Trump supporters relaxing maskless as they hung out with food and drinks as if they had just returned from a concert or ball game.

“Pretty chill vibe here in this hotel lobby as Trump supporters decompress from today’s events,” tweeted Turton that evening. “All are violating local mask rules, despite multiple massive signs about the mask rule.”

Turton’s thread continued: “After I took this video, several Trump supporters harassed me and tried to follow me to my room. One accused me of being ‘antifa.’ Hotel security intervened and moved me to new room. What a weird day.”

In other tweets, Turton described how Trump supporters demanded that he delete the video. “One woman flashed her taser at me, and threatened to mace me,” he wrote. “I should also say for the record: the hotel staff and security were extremely professional and polite, and got me out of a bad situation.” Later in Turton’s thread, hotel security took a taser from another Trump supporter in the lobby.

Students of conspiracy theories point out that not every QAnon follower believes the March 4th prophecy and, besides, QAnon has a history of moving goal posts when one hyped date doesn’t deliver.

A drama-free March 4 would suit Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin just fine. As he told reporters last month, “My plan is to not keep [troops] there one day longer than is necessary.”

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