Will the National Mall be closed? What about First Amendment activities?
National Mall Superintendent Jeff Reinbold said the National Parks Service had worked with groups already permitted to use the area next week to find other venues for their activities. But, Reinbold said, there will be spaces for First Amendment activities on Inauguration Day, despite the Mall being closed.
“We are the premier First Amendment area in the country, in the world probably, and we wanted to see if we could do that,” Reinbold said.
Those areas will be located on Pennsylvania Avenue at the Navy Memorial and John Marshall Park. Reinbold said those wanting to exercise their First Amendment rights will have to pass through a magnetometer and will be escorted in and out of the area by U.S. Park Police.