Hmmmmm?
While Republican lawmakers seem to be over the trauma of the January 6th protest and assault of the nation’s capitol…
The Capitol Police Force is not….
The new temporary police chief has presented a request for permanent fencing around the Capitol complex that the American Congress works in…
The request has been greeted with a resounding ‘No’….
One should NOT forget the images of January 6th…
One should remember that right now upwards of Five Thousand national Guard Troop’s are still on posts around the complex…
But America is not going to be comfortable with Governing Offices surround buy 10 foot fences and razor wire…
THAT is Not ‘The land of the Free’….
House Speaker Pelosi has brought in the retired general that helped New Orleans recover for their worst hurricane…
That’s fine…
But the response to the violent overrun of the building lies in more that this….
Capitol Police need better intelligence and stronger sharing of information with the Wash DC metro police…
They probably need more training and to increase their departments size ….
The building itself will need to increase the number of ‘safe area’s and have the ability to ‘lock down’ the doors…
For unusal events?
The leadership of the Police Department, NOT anyone political, should have the ability to request mutual aide manpower without jumping thru the protocol hoops….
….
But a more basic is going on here…
Some members of Congress have come to work armed…
THAT IS an issue….
Especially since some of the members of Congress are said to have egged on the January 6 protest and supported it….
Makes some of the lawmakers suspicious of their own on the inside of the place….
In a lengthy statement, acting chief Yogananda Pittman pledged to work with lawmakers to permanently beef up security in and around the complex, where thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed since the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“In light of recent events, I can unequivocally say that vast improvements to the physical security infrastructure must be made to include permanent fencing, and the availability of ready, back-up forces in close proximity to the Capitol,” Pittman said.
Lawmakers from both parties immediately objected to the police chief’s recommendations, noting that they have not received any threat assessments that would suggest permanent fencing would be necessary. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also said the city “will not accept” permanent fencing or additional security forces “being a long-term fixture in D.C.”
Even before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the police chief said, security experts recommended the Capitol be better fortified, and a 2006 security assessment recommended permanent perimeter fencing.
Separately, top Democrats in Congress are calling for extra money to help lawmakers protect themselves. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said additional security for members will likely require more funding “when the enemy is within the House of Representatives — a threat that members are concerned about — in addition to what is happening outside.”
“It means that we have members of Congress that want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress,” Pelosi said during her weekly press conference.
Freshmen lawmakers like Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) have pledged to carry firearms on Capitol grounds, clashing with plans to install metal detectors at the entrance of the House chamber…
Capitol security Update…
The outer fencing surrounding the Capitol that’s been up since the Jan. 6 insurrection is expected to be removed over the weekend, the acting House sergeant-at-arms said Friday.
The new timeline is a few days earlier than originally expected. Acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett initially said in a memo to lawmakers and staff on Monday that the outer fencing was expected to come down starting late next week.
The removal of the outer fence means that Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue will reopen to traffic by Monday for the first time since January….
More…