The Special Agent in charge of security, Michael Plati, said the inauguration will bear no resemblance to the protests on Capitol Hill last week, citing long-term planning and contingencies that anticipate the possibility of extreme violence.

Unlike the day of the riots last week, anti-scale fencing now circles the perimeter of the Capitol and the Pentagon has authorised up to 15,000 armed National Guard troops to deploy to Washington DC to back up local law enforcement.

From January 13, the United States Secret Service will assume security control under the designation of a National Special Security Event (NSSE).

"Every American, not only those on Capitol Hill, should find solace in the weight and force of the entire US Government being brought to bear on the planning and security needed to ensure this event is successful and safe.".

Mr Mihalek said one of the first steps in an NSSE was to determine what went wrong at the Capitol last week.

Watching the riots on air, Mr Mihalek later discovered his brother — a Capitol Police officer — was among the officers called to the scene of a pipe bomb outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee, just blocks from the Capitol.

Yet, when asked about the current threats against the Capitol next week, the former agent said he was "very confident the inauguration will be safe and secure because I know the work the Secret Service does and the level of planning that takes place"