Congressional security under microscope following attack
Security measures to protect members of Congress are drawing scrutiny on the heels of a shooting that wounded a top Republican lawmaker who had protection that isn’t typically afforded to Capitol Hill’s rank and file.
Capitol Police officers were at the congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va., when James T. Hodgkinson, 66, from Belleville, Ill., began shooting yesterday. The security detail was on hand because U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, who was shot in the hip, is the No. 3 Republican in the House.
“A very, very limited number of these guys have protection at all — it’s mostly just leadership,” said Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent. “The problem you run into is: Even if they had a threat tomorrow morning against 20 or 30 members, they’re resource-constrained. If you remove someone from a door and put them on a congressman, there’s no one at the door.”
The attack highlighted the vulnerability of lawmakers when they are in public. U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) told a Buffalo radio station that he plans to start carrying a gun in public.
“It’s going to be in my pocket from this day forward,” said Collins, who added he has a permit.
Bill Pickle, a Senate sergeant at arms from 2003 to 2007, told the Herald, “The Capitol Police will fear a copy cat attack. Someone on medication or someone who is a wild-eyed political activist who went loose today, that’s what they have to guard against.”
Members of the House and Senate are likely taking a closer look not only at their personal protection, but also at the threats and strongly worded letters they received recently, said Pickle, who also served in the Secret Service for 26 years.
Some lawmakers said they would look into having more security, but the sheer size of the House and Senate — with 535 members — makes it unlikely that lower-level politicians will get security details without a specific threat.
“I don’t think about it every day. You can’t think about it every day. It makes you feel vulnerable,” said U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), a pitcher on the GOP baseball team. “I don’t know how you look at security for individual members. You might at things in which we are collectively together.”
Bongino said one solution would be to work with local law enforcement agencies for those in Congress who have received threats. There would also have to be collaboration with law enforcement agencies across the country for when lawmakers travel, Bongino said.
“You have to coordinate a protection plan if they have a heightened threat level,” he said. “You can’t have this happening. This isn’t a Third World country. This cannot be happening here.”
Abraham White, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, said “for safety reasons, we do not publicize security measures, but take today’s events seriously and will be taking appropriate measures.”
State police increased patrols at the State House yesterday, but indicated that the measure was “being taken only as a general precaution” as they monitored the situation.