The Capitol is being guarded by almost 5,000 troops ahead of March 4 – when QAnon followers believe Donald Trump will become president again.
The US Capitol Police requested 4,900 National Guard troops remain in the nation’s capital until at least March 12.
The Capitol is the site of the pro-Trump insurrection on January 6 that left five dead.
March 4 is important for QAnon backers because it was the former inauguration date of the country before the 20th Amendment moved it up to its current date in January.
Conspirators who believe Trump’s false claims that the election was ‘rigged’ believe that Trump will be able to claim the presidency on the historic inauguration date on Thursday.
Trump, whose claims the election was ‘stolen’ from him and his supporters led to the Capitol siege, and his impeachment and suspension from Twitter, is continuing to fan the flames of anger among his supporters.
During his remarks at CPAC on Sunday, he mentioned the possibility of winning for ‘a third time’ if he chooses to run for president again, a continuation of his 2020 victory claim.
Trump’s hotel in Washington is also helping to fuel the claims of a potential change in leadership, as Forbes reports the room rates at the hotel for the nights of March 3 and March 4 far exceed the typical rates at the hotel.
A king deluxe room, for example, is going for $1,331 per night, which is 180 percent above the base rate of the hotel.
‘Raising room prices will surely be interpreted by QAnon as Trump’s support for the March 4 narrative,’ said Jason Blazakis, senior fellow at the Soufan Center, a nonpartisan think tank.
‘They absolutely try to interpret the words and actions of President Trump very carefully.’
March 4 used to be the inauguration date for presidents, but the date was moved up by the advent of the 20th Amendment to reduce ‘lame duck’ time.
Based on the interpretation QAnon has of the laws since then, Ulysses S. Grant is the last legitimate president of the country.
QAnon beliefs have rarely been validated by the realities that have unfolded around the conspiracy’s followers.
Followers believe Trump is working against Satanic members of Hollywood and the Democratic Party who are running a pedophile ring, which led to the infamous Pizzagate incident.
They also believe John F. Kennedy Jr. is still alive (he died in a plane crash in 1999) and that COVID-19 is a conspiracy that was invented to hurt Trump’s reelection chances.