https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wo...n/news-story/85957914a792ab0040fbc33196ac23ec Members of the US National Guard at the US Capitol. Picture: AFP/ By DAVID CHARTER THE TIMES 2:42PM JANUARY 13, 2021 Members of the US Congress have been warned that “4,000 armed patriots” are planning to descend on Washington to disrupt Joe Biden’s inauguration amid anger among President Trump’s supporters over attempts to remove him. Democratic politicians were told that plots were being discussed on right-wing internet sites to prevent them from attending the swearing-in a week despite 15,000 national guardsmen being called up to defend the ceremony and the city. There were at least four plots involving potential assaults on the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court, they were told. The threats are being taken seriously after warnings went unheeded about last Wednesday’s mayhem – including specific intelligence from the FBI in Virginia that agitators were planning to wage “war” on the Capitol. Mr Biden has vowed to be sworn in on the steps like his predecessors. Democrats and Republicans viewed as opposed to Mr Trump are facing a barrage of threats for calling on Mike Pence, the vice-president, to use powers in the constitution to remove the president and for planning a vote on Thursday (AEDT) to impeach him for inciting insurrection. The security briefing for Democratic members of Congress reminded them that they could claim back the costs of a bulletproof vest on their expenses. Following a Tuesday briefing by the FBI on last week's deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol, six top House politicians said in statement that they are worried about safety in the near future. Colette Luke has more. “They are talking about 4,000 armed patriots to surround the Capitol and prevent any Democrat from going in and they have published rules of engagement, meaning when you shoot and when you don’t,” Conor Lamb, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, said after the phone briefing. “This is an organised group that has a plan. We are not negotiating with or reasoning with these people. They have to be prosecuted. They have to be stopped. And unfortunately, that includes the president, which is why he needs to be impeached and removed from office.” Another Democratic member of Congress on the call told The Hill website: “It was horrifying, the most chilling hour imaginable.” A third said: “If you weren’t afraid when you got on the call, you were afraid when you got off.” The FBI office in Virginia, which borders Washington, warned that agitators were travelling to Washington to wage “war” on the day before the Capitol Hill siege, The Washington Post reported. The leaked report called into question the assertions of senior officials that there was no intelligence suggesting how serious events would become. It quoted online discussions among Trump supporters calling others to “go there ready for war”. It also described how protesters had obtained a map of the Capitol’s tunnels. The FBI in Washington was briefed on the report the day before the attack, according to the Post. Five people died as hordes of Trump followers delayed the confirmation of Mr Biden’s victory in November’s election for hours and members of Congress hid in fear for their lives. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from California, said that evidence was emerging that the authorities had missed signs of a much bigger threat than anticipated. “The more we learn, the more it becomes clear just how dangerous this was, just how compromised the Capitol was. We had lost the Capitol for all intents and purposes for a couple of hours and no one was coming to help. So we really have to find out where the failures were and who was responsible so this never happens again.” Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who is one of the most senior Republicans in America, has reportedly told his aides Donald Trump committed impeachable offences and that he is pleased Democrats are moving to impeach the president this week. Mr Trump maintained in a phone call with Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader of the House, that “Antifa people” were to blame for the storming of the Capitol. A White House official told Axios, the news website, that Mr McCarthy told Mr Trump: “It’s not Antifa, it’s Maga [Make America Great Again]. I know. I was there.” Three Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for the coronavirus after sharing a room during the Capitol lockdown with Republicans who refused to wear masks. A White House source dismissed a report in Mail Online that Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was planning to attend Mr Biden’s inauguration. The president had tweeted that he would not go, but Mr Pence is set to attend. The House was preparing last night (Tuesday) to vote on a symbolic call backed almost exclusively by Democrats for Mr Pence to use the 25th Amendment to remove Mr Trump. The pair met for the first time since the insurrection on Monday night, with officials saying that the 90-minute meeting was “friendly”. One added: “They pledged to continue to work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term.” The Times