Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Belarusians fleeing repression at home say they face new threats and intimidation abroad

News

Belarusians fleeing repression at home say they face new threats and intimidation abroad
News

News

Belarusians fleeing repression at home say they face new threats and intimidation abroad

2024-09-10 23:03 Last Updated At:23:11

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — More than a half-million Belarusians have fled their country in the past four years as the authoritarian government launched a harsh crackdown on its political opponents. Some of them, however, are discovering that they can't escape intimidation and threats in their new lives abroad.

Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, was detained without warning while crossing the border from Armenia to Georgia, where she had taken refuge from Belarus a year ago to escape what she called “the nightmare at home.”

More Images
Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, stands in his apartment in Belgrade, Serbia, where he is under house arrest on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, stands in his apartment in Belgrade, Serbia, where he is under house arrest on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

A tracking device is seen on the leg of Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, currently under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

A tracking device is seen on the leg of Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, currently under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, poses for a portrait in his apartment while under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, poses for a portrait in his apartment while under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

FILE – Former Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought political asylum in Poland three years ago, talks with teammates following their women's 4x100-meter relay heat at the Paris Olympics, on Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE – Former Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought political asylum in Poland three years ago, talks with teammates following their women's 4x100-meter relay heat at the Paris Olympics, on Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE - Belarusian dissident Pavel Latushka, a prominent opposition figure in exile, talks on the phone in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

FILE - Belarusian dissident Pavel Latushka, a prominent opposition figure in exile, talks on the phone in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

FILE - Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, center, holds a portrait of her jailed husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, at a protest outside the Belarus Embassy, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 8, 2024, demanding freedom for political prisoners. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

FILE - Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, center, holds a portrait of her jailed husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, at a protest outside the Belarus Embassy, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 8, 2024, demanding freedom for political prisoners. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, who fled Belarus a year ago to escape a crackdown on government opponents, poses for a picture in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, who fled Belarus a year ago to escape a crackdown on government opponents, poses for a picture in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, walks in a street in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, after being denied entry to neighboring Georgia because an arrest warrant had been issued for her by authorities in Minsk. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, walks in a street in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, after being denied entry to neighboring Georgia because an arrest warrant had been issued for her by authorities in Minsk. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

Authorities in Minsk, she was told, had issued an international arrest warrant against her on charges of “organizing mass unrest.”

She knows what a return to Belarus will mean: Her father was imprisoned for nearly three years on similar charges. When he was released last year, he was promptly arrested again.

As hard-line President Alexander Lukashenko seeks his seventh term next year to extend his three-decade rule, opposition leaders in exile say he is ramping up the pressure on Belarusians who moved abroad. The aim is to avoid a repeat of the mass protests that broke out around the 2020 election by quashing any opposition support from abroad.

Months of large demonstrations over that widely denounced balloting resulted in more than 65,000 people arrested over the last four years, with many of them severely beaten, according to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna. Its Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder, Ales Bialiatski, is among those imprisoned.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was Lukashenko’s main challenger in 2020 before fleeing to Lithuania the day after the election, says Belarus has launched a systematic campaign against dissidents abroad.

“Ahead of the 2025 campaign, repressions against Belarusians abroad will most likely only intensify as the regime tries to intimidate those who call for increased international sanctions and nonrecognition of Lukashenko’s legitimacy,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Tsikhanouskaya said her office gets hundreds of requests a month from Belarusians abroad who say criminal cases have been opened against them in their homeland, and it is intervening in at least 15 countries where extradition requests have been made. Other emigres complain their identity documents have been invalidated by the government in Minsk or that relatives at home have come under pressure.

Pavel Latushka, a prominent opposition figure in exile in Poland, says he's received threats, which Polish authorities are investigating, and his website came under a cyberattack that he blames on Lukashenko's government.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought political asylum in Poland three years ago after the Tokyo Olympics, also said she had received threatening messages in Warsaw.

One said "they would rip my stomach open if I went outside,” Tsimanouskaya told AP at the Paris Olympics.

In another, separate instance, she said she noticed “two men were constantly following me” in her neighborhood. "They went outside when I went outside. This was not some kind of coincidence," Tsimanouskaya said, adding that it ended after she reported it to police. At the Paris Games, Polish team officials advised her to keep to the more secure athletes village whenever possible.

Viasna representative Pavel Sapelka said the Belarus KGB is infiltrating the diaspora, organizing surveillance and taking video of large protests abroad, and then initiating hundreds of criminal cases at home.

“Official Minsk has begun sending out extradition requests en masse, and the logic here is very simple -- even if they manage to bring back only a few from abroad, everyone will be scared,” he said.

Independent director Andrei Hniot, a Lukashenko critic who made films about the Minsk protests, was arrested last year at Belgrade’s airport on an Interpol warrant at the request of Belarusian authorities for alleged tax evasion. A Serbian court in June ordered his extradition, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intervened.

In a letter to the Belarusian opposition office, she said Serbian authorities were told Hniot’s case “was politically motivated” and he “would face reprisals” if returned to his homeland.

“The route to Belarus is a direct road to prison,” Hniot told AP from Belgrade, where he's under house arrest while awaiting a final ruling.

In August, two anti-Lukashenko activists were deported from Sweden after being refused political asylum. The mother and son who had participated in protests in Belarus were taken by Swedish authorities to the Lithuania-Belarus frontier and handed over to Belarusian border guards. The son was detained at the border.

“Belarusians need European solidarity not in words but in deeds," said Zmitser Vaserman, who represents a Belarusian exile group in Sweden, urging a "European moratorium on the deportation of Belarusian citizens who are persecuted for political reasons.”

To protect the interests of Belarusians abroad, the opposition has created “people’s embassies” in 24 countries, including in EU member states, the U.K., Canada, Australia and Brazil.

Belarusian authorities responded by declaring these “people’s embassies” to be extremist groups; cooperation with them is punishable by up to seven years in prison and confiscation of property. In the spring, authorities carried out a wave of searches and arrests inside Belarus, initiating hundreds of criminal cases at home and abroad.

“Extremist groups have launched information campaigns to discredit our country in the eyes of Western politicians,” said Siarhei Kabakovich, spokesman for the Investigative Committee of Belarus. “The pseudo-embassies are trying to damage the national security of Belarus and are carrying out measures to isolate diplomatic missions of the Foreign Ministry system and block any contacts between foreign citizens, organizations and governments with Belarusian diplomats.”

In Vilnius, where opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya is based, several Belarusian institutions were attacked this month. Windows were broken at a Belarusian Orthodox church and a center of Belarusian culture, and obscene messages were left near a refugee shelter.

Lithuania's Foreign Ministry in a statement on X condemned “the acts of vandalism against the Belarusian community carried out according to the KGB playbook” and vowed to punish those responsible.

Tsikhanouskaya called for an investigation, blaming “the Lukashenko regime, which is constantly trying to create an atmosphere of fear and hate in Belarusian society.”

Belarus now requires its citizens to renew their passports inside the country. That leaves many exiles in a bind, fearing prosecution if they return home to get new documents.

Of particular concern are children born abroad to parents who cannot return to Belarus to get documents confirming their citizenship, said Anaïs Marin, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus, because "this may lead to loss of proof of citizenship and, potentially, to statelessness.”

Many Belarusians returning home have been arrested at the border, said Tsikhanouskaya. Some record video confessions of repentance, which are widely believed to be coerced.

Katsiaryna Mendryk, a student at the University of Warsaw who was arrested in August, said in a subsequent video confession that she “really regrets participating in extremist activities.” She goes on trial this month, facing up to seven years in prison.

Maiseyenka, the woman detained at the Georgia-Armenia border, spent five days in limbo before returning safely to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Tsikhanouskaya's office intervened on her behalf, and Armenia decided not to extradite her, she told AP.

Maiseyenka said she was “a lucky exception” but "realized with horror how dangerous it is to be Belarusian.”

“Lukashenko is showing that he can hang the fate of any citizen by a thread,” she said. “This means that a Belarusian anywhere in the world needs to be prepared for unpleasant surprises.”

Associated Press writer James Ellingworth contributed to this report.

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, stands in his apartment in Belgrade, Serbia, where he is under house arrest on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, stands in his apartment in Belgrade, Serbia, where he is under house arrest on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

A tracking device is seen on the leg of Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, currently under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

A tracking device is seen on the leg of Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, currently under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, poses for a portrait in his apartment while under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Andrei Hniot, a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Belarus, poses for a portrait in his apartment while under house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

FILE – Former Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought political asylum in Poland three years ago, talks with teammates following their women's 4x100-meter relay heat at the Paris Olympics, on Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE – Former Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought political asylum in Poland three years ago, talks with teammates following their women's 4x100-meter relay heat at the Paris Olympics, on Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE - Belarusian dissident Pavel Latushka, a prominent opposition figure in exile, talks on the phone in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

FILE - Belarusian dissident Pavel Latushka, a prominent opposition figure in exile, talks on the phone in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

FILE - Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, center, holds a portrait of her jailed husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, at a protest outside the Belarus Embassy, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 8, 2024, demanding freedom for political prisoners. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

FILE - Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, center, holds a portrait of her jailed husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, at a protest outside the Belarus Embassy, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 8, 2024, demanding freedom for political prisoners. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, who fled Belarus a year ago to escape a crackdown on government opponents, poses for a picture in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, who fled Belarus a year ago to escape a crackdown on government opponents, poses for a picture in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, walks in a street in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, after being denied entry to neighboring Georgia because an arrest warrant had been issued for her by authorities in Minsk. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

CORRECTS THE NAME OF SOURCE - Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, walks in a street in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, after being denied entry to neighboring Georgia because an arrest warrant had been issued for her by authorities in Minsk. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, arrived at the U.S. Capitol to be sworn in as the 47th president Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country's institutions.

Trump will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.

He plans to declare the beginning of “a thrilling new era of national success” as “a tide of change is sweeping the country," according to excerpts of his inaugural address.

The executive orders are the first step in what Trump will call “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."

Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.

“We needed a change. The country was going in the wrong direction in so many ways, economically, geopolitically, so many social issues at home," said Joe Morse, 56, of New Jersey, who got in line with his sons at 11 p.m. Sunday and secured a spot on the main floor at Capitol One Arena to watch a livestream of the inauguration.

Trump began the day alongside much of his incoming Cabinet with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.

“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car. The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticizing each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol.

When Trump takes the oath of office at noon, he will realize a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.

“I am ready for a new United States,” said Cynde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.

Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.

He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.

Hours before the inauguration, Biden issued preemptive pardons to current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump's anger, shielding them from the possibility of prosecution. Biden said in a statement that “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”

Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country's political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.

Long skeptical of American alliances, Trump's “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia's invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

At the Capitol, Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.

A cadre of billionaires and tech titans who have sought to curry favor with Trump and have donated handsomely to his inaugural festivities, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, will be in attendance.

Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the U.S. Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.

Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the U.S. and deploying the military. He's expected to take additional actions — including constitutionally questionable ones — such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the U.S.

Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs. Conservatives have long criticized programs that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the Constitution.

Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden's recent directive on artificial intelligence.

More changes are planned for the federal workforce. Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.

With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden's policies and institute their own priorities.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro, and AP writers Josh Boak, Lindsey Bahr, Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Follow the AP's coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, escorted by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., walk out to the presidential limousine, as they depart the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, enroute to the Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, escorted by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., walk out to the presidential limousine, as they depart the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, enroute to the Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump walk out to the presidential limousine, as they depart the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, enroute to the Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump walk out to the presidential limousine, as they depart the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, enroute to the Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden looks on as he and first lady Jill Biden welcome President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Joe Biden looks on as he and first lady Jill Biden welcome President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Joe Biden, center left, and first lady Jill Biden, left, greet President-elect Donald Trump, center right, and Melania Trump, right, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, center left, and first lady Jill Biden, left, greet President-elect Donald Trump, center right, and Melania Trump, right, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, center left, and first lady Jill Biden, left, greet President-elect Donald Trump, center right, and Melania Trump, right, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, center left, and first lady Jill Biden, left, greet President-elect Donald Trump, center right, and Melania Trump, right, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Eric Trump and wife Lara, daughter Carolina and son Luke, arrive for church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania, at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Eric Trump and wife Lara, daughter Carolina and son Luke, arrive for church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania, at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Rudy Giuliani, center arrives for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Rudy Giuliani, center arrives for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A sign is seen near St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, where President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania will attend an early morning service to start Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A sign is seen near St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, where President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania will attend an early morning service to start Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Ivanka Trump and her family arrive for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Ivanka Trump and her family arrive for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance arrive for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance arrive for a church service to be attended by President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Barron Trump arrive for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Barron Trump arrive for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Family members including Ivanka Trump, arrive before President-elect Donald Trump for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Family members including Ivanka Trump, arrive before President-elect Donald Trump for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Vice President-elect JD Vance as Usha Vance, Melania Trump, Barron Trump and Victor Knavs watch before a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Vice President-elect JD Vance as Usha Vance, Melania Trump, Barron Trump and Victor Knavs watch before a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump talks with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance before a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump talks with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance before a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive for a service at St. John's Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania are greeted as they arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania are greeted as they arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania are greeted as they arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania are greeted as they arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for church service at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, on Donald Trump's inauguration day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool via AP)

The U.S. Capitol is seen from the top of the Washington Monument at dawn on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan.20, 2025 in Washington. (Brendan McDermid/Pool via AP)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Snow falls on the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Snow falls on the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Recommended Articles
Hot · Posts