Campus Alert Archive
GW

Sixteen Blocks From the Mob: GW Closes Foggy Bottom at 6 p.m. as the Capitol Burns

DCcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

George Washington University's Foggy Bottom campus sits roughly 1.6 miles west of the US Capitol -- the closest major university campus to the building that was stormed by supporters of President Trump on January 6, 2021. GW had pre-positioned a campus advisory the previous day warning of Wednesday's permitted First Amendment activities and directing community members to seek shelter indoors if a disturbance occurred. By late afternoon -- after Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a 6:00 p.m. curfew -- GW issued a second advisory closing the Foggy Bottom campus from 6 p.m. on January 6 through 6 a.m. on January 7 to all but residential students and designated on-site employees.

Alerts
3
Response
min
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
The George Washington University
Private R1 · DC
~27,000 studentsEverbridgeGW Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionGW Campus Advisories: Change in Foggy Bottom campus operations for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 (text reconstructed from advisory summary preserved in search excerpts)648 chars
Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 6, the District of Columbia is expecting several permitted First Amendment activities throughout the day. Members of the GW community are advised to avoid downtown and the area near the U.S. Capitol. If you live or work in the District and need to be on campus, please plan additional travel time. If there is a disturbance, seek shelter indoors until normal conditions return, and observe directions from law enforcement personnel. While there is no specific or direct threat to the GW community at this time, the university encourages students, faculty and staff not living in the District to avoid the downtown area.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued the day before the Capitol attack -- one of very few documented US campus advisories that anticipated January 6 as a security event rather than reacting after the breach
The 'if there is a disturbance, seek shelter indoors until normal conditions return' language is preserved verbatim in the live archived advisory page title and excerpt
Foggy Bottom sits approximately 1.6 miles (sixteen blocks) west of the Capitol -- the closest major university campus to the building that was breached the next day
GW was already operating in a predominantly-remote posture due to COVID-19, but residential students remained in Foggy Bottom dorms over the winter break
UPDATEEmail+1d
Approximate reconstructionGW Campus Advisories: GW Foggy Bottom campus to close from 6pm-6am (text reconstructed from advisory summary and Mayor Bowser's curfew order)603 chars
GW ALERT: In light of Mayor Bowser's Curfew Order, the GW Foggy Bottom campus will be closed at 6 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, January 6, through 6 a.m. on Thursday, January 7, to all but residential students and designated on-site employees. Residential students should remain in their residence halls during the curfew. Employees should not report to campus during the curfew unless they are essential personnel. The University Police Department is in close coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department and federal authorities. Updates will continue through campusadvisories.gwu.edu and GW Alerts.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The advisory's archived title -- 'GW Foggy Bottom campus to close from 6pm-6am' -- encodes the precise curfew window of 6 p.m. January 6 through 6 a.m. January 7
Mayor Bowser's 6 p.m. curfew was the first daytime-into-evening curfew DC had imposed since the 1968 unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The closure applied to 'all but residential students and designated on-site employees' -- a narrower exception than COVID-era closures which had also allowed essential research staff
The advisory was issued before Congress reconvened at approximately 8 p.m. EST to certify the Electoral College count -- the certification did not conclude until approximately 3:40 a.m. EST on January 7
FOLLOW-UPEmail+1d
Approximate reconstructionGW Campus Advisories: University Operating Status Update for Jan. 6 (text reconstructed from advisory and contemporaneous GW Hatchet reporting)533 chars
The Foggy Bottom curfew has been lifted as of 6 a.m. this morning, Thursday, January 7. GW operations will continue on a remote basis through the January 20 inauguration. Members of the community should expect a heightened federal law enforcement and National Guard presence throughout Foggy Bottom and the broader downtown area in the days ahead. Continue to avoid the area around the U.S. Capitol and the White House. The University will publish further updates regarding inauguration-period operations on campusadvisories.gwu.edu.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

GW extended remote operations through the January 20 inauguration -- a two-week window covering the entire transition period
The National Guard occupation of Foggy Bottom during the buildup to the inauguration was later described by The GW Hatchet as the defining campus story of early 2021
Foggy Bottom was subsequently subject to the Secret Service's National Special Security Event zone -- one of very few US university campuses ever placed inside a federal hardened perimeter
The 6 a.m. lifting time matched Mayor Bowser's underlying curfew order exactly -- GW's advisory provided no independent legal authority
Context

Background

George Washington University's Foggy Bottom campus -- located approximately 1.6 miles west of the US Capitol and approximately 0.4 miles from the White House -- was the closest major American university campus to the building stormed by supporters of President Trump on January 6, 2021. Unlike most universities, GW had pre-positioned a campus advisory on January 5 warning of Wednesday's permitted First Amendment activities, instructing community members to seek shelter indoors if a disturbance occurred and to observe directions from law enforcement personnel. The Capitol was first breached at approximately 2:13 PM EST on January 6. By approximately 5:30 PM EST, Mayor Muriel Bowser had imposed a 6:00 PM curfew. GW responded with a second advisory closing the Foggy Bottom campus from 6 p.m. on January 6 through 6 a.m. on January 7 to all but residential students and designated on-site employees. GW's campus then sat inside the Secret Service security perimeter for the next two weeks, with the National Guard occupying Foggy Bottom during the buildup to the January 20 Biden inauguration. The university operated remotely throughout this window. The proximity made GW operationally singular: no other major US university faced this combination of geographic exposure, federal security infrastructure, and a campus partially populated by residential students during a national civic emergency.
Analysis

Key Findings

GW's Foggy Bottom campus sits approximately 1.6 miles from the Capitol and 0.4 miles from the White House -- the closest major US university to the federal core
GW pre-positioned an advisory on January 5, the day before the attack, anticipating January 6 as a security event rather than reacting after the breach
Mayor Bowser's 6:00 PM curfew was the first daytime-into-evening curfew imposed on DC since the 1968 unrest
Foggy Bottom was subsequently placed inside the Secret Service's National Special Security Event perimeter for two weeks before the Biden inauguration -- one of very few US university campuses ever absorbed into a federal hardened zone
The campus was already in COVID-19 remote operations, limiting the immediate population at risk to residential students and essential personnel
Outcome
Foggy Bottom remained under a Secret Service security zone through the [January 20 inauguration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Joe_Biden). [The GW Hatchet later reported](https://gwhatchet.com/2021/12/30/year-in-review-top-stories-of-2021/) that the National Guard occupied Foggy Bottom during the buildup, with thousands of troops stationed in the neighborhood. Most GW students were not on campus due to COVID-19 remote operations. The Senate confirmed the Electoral College count at approximately 3:40 AM EST on January 7, 2021.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Change in Foggy Bottom campus operations for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 -- GW Campus Advisories
    campusadvisories.gwu.edu
  2. Official
    GW Foggy Bottom campus to close from 6pm-6am -- GW Campus Advisories
    campusadvisories.gwu.edu
  3. Official
    University Operating Status Update for Jan. 6 -- GW Campus Advisories
    campusadvisories.gwu.edu
  4. Official
    Statement on the January 6 United States Capitol Attack -- GW Office for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement
    diversity.gwu.edu
  5. Student Paper
    Year in review: Top stories of 2021 -- The GW Hatchet
    gwhatchet.com
  6. Official
    Mayor Bowser Orders Citywide Curfew Beginning at 6PM Today -- Office of the Mayor of Washington DC
    mayor.dc.gov
  7. Source
    January 6 United States Capitol attack -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
january-6capitol-attackcivil-unrestgeorge-washington-universityfoggy-bottomwashington-dccurfewgw-alertnational-guardwinter-2021
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion