Enlarge /. Pro-Trump rioters clashed with police outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades / For the Washington Post via Getty Images
Airbnb is canceling all reservations in metropolitan DC next week – the week of Joe Biden's inauguration – the company said on Wednesday. The governors of Virginia and Maryland and the mayor of Washington DC have asked all attendees not to come to DC for this event.
"We are also aware of reports released yesterday afternoon of armed militia and known hate groups trying to travel and disrupt the inauguration," wrote Airbnb.
The District of Columbia has been nervous since last Wednesday when a violent mob invaded the U.S. Capitol, killed a police officer, and temporarily prevented Congress from confirming Joe Biden's election as 46th president. The police regained control of the Capitol within a few hours. But some right-wing extremists have vowed to return with guns next week to disrupt Biden's inauguration.
Airbnb says it not only issues refunds to customers, but also reimburses Airbnb hosts for the lost revenue.
Airbnb says it is also taking steps to ban extremists who participated in last week's riots from the platform.
"We learned from the media and law enforcement agencies that the names of people confirmed to be responsible for the violent criminal activity at the United States Capitol on January 6th have investigated whether they have an Airbnb account . " The company writes. As a result, "numerous people" were "banned from the Airbnb platform".
Airbnb is also canceling reservations through HotelTonight, an Airbnb app.
