CT congressional delegation will have more police support

State police have contacted local law enforcement in the hometowns of the state’s seven members of Congress, asking them to be vigilant in case the Trump-fueled violence that was directed at the nation’s capital this week migrates to Connecticut.

The additional security is being offered at a moment when members of Congress are calling for the immediate removal of President Trump from office before his term is up on Jan. 20, after he allegedly incited the mob that broke through barriers, pushed aside security officers and trashed Capitol offices on Wednesday.

Lawmakers also called for the prosecution of Wednesday’s rioters who ransacked the Capitol building for the first time since the British raided and burned Washington in 1814, during war with the British.

Brian Foley, spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, confirmed Thursday that Commissioner James Rovella, after monitoring the violence in Washington on Wednesday, coordinated the Connecticut Terrorism and Intelligence Center’s (CTIC) communications with law enforcement throughout the state, asking them to maintain “situational awareness” of events and provide extra attention as officials deem necessary.

“Certain local police departments were contacted directly,” Foley said. “While there is no specific threat, out of an abundance of caution, some early lines of communication were opened yesterday afternoon with some folks in D.C. and in-state that might have a heightened concern regarding their safety and security. With the help of C.T.I.C. as well as Connecticut State Police Troopers detached to our federal partners, our monitoring of these types of events does not stop.”

United States Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that while he hadn’t yet heard from Connecticut officials about supplementing his personal safety, but voiced confidence in them and cited occasions when he had to deal with threats.

“I feel very safe in Connecticut,”

Blumenthal said during a virtual news conference from Washington. “I have very good relationships with law enforcement throughout Connecticut. There have been times where there were physical threats against me and law enforcement responded very professionally and expertly and promptly.”

But Blumenthal was incensed by the security lapses that allowed the pro-Trump mob, encouraged by the president, to march to the Capitol building. He charged that the Department of Defense, aware of the threat, did little to help.

“All of law enforcement in the capital region is on notice that violence is not an abstract or hypothetical notion,” Blumenthal said, calling for a massive review of the pre-riot intelligence and the security response. “It is a real risk, and especially if the president continues to incite and fuel this kind of rioting and mob assault on our democracy, it will be something that has to be countered effectively. I have confidence in our military that our National Guard and other resources will be available to protect our physical safety going into January 20. Lessons must be learned.”

At the State Capitol on Wednesday, more than 100 metal barriers were set up to separate protesters from the outdoor swearing-in ceremonies for the 187 members of the House and Senate. While the demonstrations - mostly by Trump supporters and people opposed to mandatory vaccinations for school children - were noisy, there was only one arrest among the 500 protesters: a breach of peace charge against a former New Fairfield pharmacist who allegedly spat on someone.

Dozens of State Capitol Police were on the scene for the demonstration on the 17-acre campus, where organizers had estimated 2,000 people would attend. While the State Capitol complex and other state office buildings have been closed to the public since last

March in the pandemic, state officials said Thursday that security protocols are regularly assessed and updated, with guidance from the DESPP. All visitors must pass through metal detectors, which were the focus of a prolonged debate among lawmakers before they were installed in the Capitol in 2015.

Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday said that law enforcement easily handled the State Capitol crowds. “We had some demonstrations here yesterday, as I am sure you are aware. and I think the Capitol police and state police handled it well, with local police,” Lamont said during his daily news conference.

Capitol Police Officer Scott Driscoll, who is the spokesman for the agency, said there are numerous policies and procedures, including crowd engagement and de-escalation. “We are always open-minded and are monitoring closely what is happening,” Driscoll said in an interview Thursday. “We do have some extra patrols out now. We’ve had 90-plus rallies and protests over the last year.” He said that organizers of demonstrations are usually good about communication with the police.

“People have the right to come up here and voice their opinions,” Driscoll said. Last summer, Capitol Police were dispatched to the home of Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, after a testy encounter in Norwalk Police headquarters, where Duff felt threatened over a pending bill on law enforcement transparency that eventually became law.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, who is co-chairman of the Legislative Management Committee, which governs the Capitol complex, praised Capitol Police Chief Luiz Casanova on Thursday, for using his experience as a former assistant police chief in New Haven. Looney, who began his 41st legislative session on Wednesday, recalled that it was only five years ago that lawmakers debated whether metal detectors should be installed.

“What happened yesterday in Washington, there was massive negligence and incompetence in the first place,” Looney said, adding that the riot in the nation’s Capitol will likely result in close examinations of security procedures among law enforcement and national security agencies.