Congressman Mike Gallagher wears a mask while speaking with reporters during a press conference at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport. (PHOTO/WTAQ News)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As the presidential inauguration draws within just a few hours, concerns over protests and potential violence remain high with the events of January 6th still fresh in mind.
“My hope is that day goes off without a hitch. I think everyone’s gonna have their guard up,” said 8th District Congressman Mike Gallagher. “Hopefully, we can learn some of the right lessons from it.”
He says he never expected anything like it to happen in the United States.
Gallagher was in the building as demonstrators stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. His staff barricaded themselves inside of his office. That’s when some of his past experience decided to kick into gear.
“So I kind of mapped out this defensive depth strategy. My kind of Marine Corps-reptilian brain sort of took over,” Gallagher said. “It seems comical in retrospect, but there was moment where my staff and I were debating what would be the best defensive weapon to use. I had my ceremonial Marine Corps sword on the wall that I took off, and we had the Wisconsin flag an American flag, where we determined we could use both of them as sort of like pikes if we needed to.”
As he planned for any theoretical defense tactics, Gallagher says he later found out that he knew an officer who was actually outside trying to fend off the crowd.
“A buddy of mine who I served with in the Marine Corps, who became a D.C. cop, had actually been at the rally and he got called to reinforce Capitol Police. So he was actually in combat for the better part of six hours with some of these people, in riot gear, and it was just absolutely crazy,” Gallagher told WTAQ News.
Fast-forwarding to this week, with the inauguration of Joe Biden set to be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday morning, Gallagher still isn’t quite sure what to expect.
“I’ve been digging into this both from a classified and unclassified perspective, and the threat streams are very intense right now and picking up. Without going into anything classified, certainly my guard is up and I know the same is true of federal law enforcement and local law enforcement, and I would assume the same is true for law enforcement professionals in Madison. So yeah, I do have concerns,” Gallagher explained. “Already, the National Guard presence is very intense in DC. So I do get the sense that unlike on January 6, they’re taking a very proactive security posture and adopting a proactive strategy. So that gives me some confidence.”
Gallagher attended the inauguration of President Trump in January of 2017. While he had ‘nose-bleed’ seats to watch, he says it was an incredible experience.
“4 years ago when I attended my first inauguration, the night before I went to the Library of Congress and read a draft of Jefferson’s inaugural [from] the early 1800s, and that was a brutal election,” Gallagher said. “It was a very remarkable experience and it made me proud to be an American, even though I know it was a brutal election in 2016.”
Gallagher also plans to attend the inauguration on Wednesday.
“It’s a shame that we’re not going to have that same sense of celebration, because I think even those of us who were on the losing side in terms of our party losing the election, we can still celebrate the idea that in America we resolve our differences peacefully. And, of course, that broke down on January 6th,” Gallagher said. “At the end of the day, the peaceful transfer of power is one of many things that makes America so special and remarkable. We can’t take it for granted.”
So as the country prepares to turn the page, Gallagher says it’s important for lawmakers from every part of the political spectrum to ask themselves a question.
“As someone who holds public office, what can I do to reach across the aisle and at least not contribute to heightened the escalating cycle of violence and hateful rhetoric right now?”
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