A HOUSE DIVIDED

Airbnb Blocks All Reservations in D.C. Area Ahead of Jan. 20 Inauguration

In a statement, the company added that it had also banned people from its platform that it identified as being at the Jan. 6 riot.

Airbnb is canceling all reservations in the Washington, D.C. area ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the company said Wednesday. Following Jan. 6’s pro-Trump riot inside the U.S. Capitol, the governors of Maryland and Virginia and the mayor of D.C. released a joint statement warning against traveling for the swearing-in ceremony. “We have identified numerous individuals who are either associated with known hate groups or otherwise involved in the criminal activity at the Capitol Building, and they have been banned from Airbnb’s platform,” the company said in the statement. While there have been threats of violence ahead of Jan. 20, Biden says he is committed to holding a traditional ceremony on the Capitol’s terrace, albeit with a heavily restricted audience.