A hotel that has become a favorite spot for members of the white nationalist Proud Boys is shutting its doors for two days during planned pro-Trump protests next week in Washington, D.C.
The Harrington Hotel and its Harry’s Bar, which are a few blocks from the White House, will both be closed to all but long-term residents from next Monday to Jan. 6 to avoid attracting trouble.
“We cannot control what happens outside of the hotel, (but) we are taking additional steps to protect the safety of our visitors, guests and employees,” the hotel said in a statement, without mentioning the far right-wing group.
Trump has called for “wild” protests on Jan. 6 as Congress meets to rubber-stamp the results of President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the November presidential election.
The Harrington and its watering hole have become a preferred haunt for Proud Boys supporters during previous #MAGA rallies in the nation’s capitol.
Nonwhite hotel staff and guests have said they feel uncomfortable with the presence of the white nationalists who have been blamed for inciting violence at pro-Trump events.
The Jan. 6 vote in Congress would normally be a nonevent. But Trump has been pushing unfounded claims that the election was massively rigged.
The outgoing president is hoping a show of force from his supporters will force Republican lawmakers to object to the Electoral College and keep alive his hopes of overturning the results.
Despite Trump’s bluster, his own hotel seems to be having doubts about whether the president will be around after his term ends on Jan. 20.
The Trump International Hotel in Washington reportedly unblocked its rooms for the period covering Inauguration Day. It had been refusing bookings, apparently in anticipation of a windfall from Trump supporters.
