Follow the main events of the US presidential inauguration day with the SCMP’s live blog from 10am EST/11pm HKT on January 20. The tumultuous events in the US, from the coronavirus pandemic to threats of violence from supporters of outgoing president Donald Trump, have set the stage for a muted Inauguration Day. Many traditional aspects of the transfer of power have been adapted to fit the unprecedented circumstances. Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday in a ceremony unlike any in American history – during a pandemic and two weeks after a mob stormed the US Capitol building in protest of his election. The FBI has warned of plans for armed protests in Washington and all 50 US state capitols on and leading up to Inauguration Day. Unprecedented security is in place ahead of the event, typically marked by huge crowds, fanfare, and celebration of a peaceful transfer of power. A total of 25,000 National Guards from around the country have been cleared for duty in Washington and will be vetted by federal law enforcement over concerns of inside attacks, the Associated Press reported. Thousands of troops have already been at work for days in the US capital in an effort to prevent the failures of preparation that experts say left law enforcement overwhelmed on January 6. A large section of the city’s core is under lockdown, with blockaded streets and tunnels, security checkpoints, and more than a dozen subway stations closed. A seven-foot fence, reinforced with razor-wire in some areas, surrounds the US Capitol building. Life of Kamala Harris, first woman elected US vice-president Biden and vice-president elect Kamala Harris will swear their oaths of office at the west front of the building at noon on Wednesday, in keeping with tradition. Harris will become the country’s first woman – and first woman of colour – to serve as vice-president. Biden will be the oldest person to take the country’s highest office. Members of Congress and recent past presidents, with the exception of sitting president Donald Trump, are expected to be there. Unlike past inaugurations, Biden will not deliver his first address before hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered in the National Mall. Instead, the iconic park has been closed to the public due to security concerns. It is one further restriction on an event where attendance was already expected to be limited because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We cannot allow a recurrence of the chaos and illegal activity that the United States and the world witnessed last week,” Matthew Miller, the head of the Washington field office for the Secret Service, which coordinates the inauguration’s security, told reporters on Friday. At stake, amid concerns of more violence from right-wing extremists, is a smooth transfer of power to the administration of Biden, a Democrat. That transfer, the hallmark of American democracy, has been under fire for months, as Trump and his Republican allies promoted unsubstantiated claims that the election was fraudulent. Such claims were a driving force behind the January 6 storming of the Capitol, as radical Trump supporters attacked the building in a bid to interrupt lawmakers’ certification of Biden’s electoral win. Following the attack, Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives last week for “incitement of insurrection”. He acknowledged that a new administration would be inaugurated in comments on January 7, the closest he has come to conceding the election. Analysts say that the security presence at the Biden inauguration will be the largest in American history, with more US troops on hand than are currently deployed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. “There’s a lot at stake for law enforcement,” said Devin Ellis, a programme director at the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. “There really needs to be a demonstration that violent protesters assaulting the seat of American government won’t succeed and won’t disrupt the inauguration.” Ellis said agencies involved in security in Washington and state capitals were rehearsing for a repeat of January 6 as their “number one scenario” – that “a large, aggressive crowd comes prepared to take potentially violent action to achieve their objective”. The Secret Service will also have planned for different contingencies to ensure that Biden will be able to take the oath to step into his new role, regardless of any interruptions, experts said. Trump’s term will officially end at noon on January 20, as per the US constitution. “A public [oath-swearing] event is not necessary for constitutional purposes,” said Robert Tsai, a professor at Boston University’s School of Law. “But, the public ritual surrounding it is important, because it shows the world that the person who is assuming the office is acknowledging that he is bound by the rule of the law,” he said. Can a fractured US survive the myths surrounding Trump’s election loss? Brian Gerber, co-director of Arizona State University’s Centre for Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said the “massive federal security presence” in the capital was likely to serve as a deterrent to actions similar to January 6. “It is very unlikely that a large number of protesters will emerge to attempt to directly confront the security areas protecting the inauguration ceremony,” Gerber said. But that did not rule out “small scale terror actions” in other parts of the capital region, he added, noting there may also be more risk of disruption in certain state capitals. More than a dozen states have activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following law enforcement‘s warning. Small-scale protests in several capitals over the weekend were without incident. Besides the crowds, Wednesday’s event in Washington will be missing several traditions that have come to define the ceremonial transfer of power. Trump has said he will not attend, contradicting custom for living former presidents. He is instead planning his own departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday morning, before taking off for Florida on his final flight aboard Air Force One, according to Associated Press. Outgoing vice-president Mike Pence is expected to attend the inauguration and called Harris last week, the highest reported level of contact between the two administrations. History of inauguration dramas, snubs and sore losers The inaugural parade, which typically leads the new president and first lady from the Capitol to the White House, has been swapped for a virtual event because of the pandemic. Instead, the first couple will get a presidential motorcade escort to the White House. They will also visit Arlington National Cemetery with past presidents and first ladies, besides the Trumps, to honour US veterans. The lack of communication between the two administrations breaks with tradition for the presidential inauguration, according to Anita McBride, who was an assistant to former president George W. Bush and chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush. She pointed to the customary White House meeting between the incoming and outgoing presidents and their spouses on inauguration morning. Typically, the group rides together to the inauguration ceremony at the Capitol, while White House staff briskly prepare for the return of the new first family. “None of those things that helped to really create that sense of unity for the transition are happening in the normal way,” said McBride, who is now an executive-in-residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs in Washington. “But despite what we’re seeing – the armed camp around the nation’s Capitol, the people’s house – the swearing in will still go on … that [is the] measure of continuity not only for Americans, but people around the world.” What does a 50-50 Senate get Joe Biden as president? A smooth inauguration may relieve tensions in the capital, but Biden will have a tough set of challenges from the moment he takes office, experts say. Those include the visible threat of domestic terrorism, the contingent of Republican lawmakers who supported objections to certifying his electoral victory, and the surging Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed 400,000 American lives. David Barker, director of the Centre for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, said the 46th president was entering office “at a more precarious time for our nation than we’ve seen in the past 150 years”. “The star-spangled banner still waves, but perhaps over the land of the cynical and home of the scared. He’s going to have this work cut out for him,” he said. Biden is expected to call for unity in his inaugural address, where he’ll outline his plans to address the country’s health and economic crises, and the nation’s political divisions. McBride, the former Bush assistant, said Biden would be able to lean on his intimate knowledge of government, gained from years as a long-time congressman and former vice-president, as he starts his term and tackles issues like the pandemic. “He can go a long way with all of the years that he has had serving the country as a public servant … to really give confidence to the American people that our institutions do work,” she said. “We need a restoration of confidence.”