Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Security at U.S. Capitol continues
After chatter on plots, Pentagon studies length of troops’ stay
A Maine National Guardsman stands watch Thursday near the U.S. Capitol, where security remains heavy after warnings of a second assault by militia groups. There were no signs of a disturbance as the Senate met, but officials are taking the threat seriously, with the Pentagon reviewing a request to keep troops around the Capitol for another 60 days.
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reviewing a police request to keep National Guard troops patrolling the U.S. Capitol for another 60 days after evidence of a “possible plot” by a militia group to storm the building again, two months after supporters of former President Donald Trump smashed through windows and doors in an insurrection meant to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
There were no signs of disturbance Thursday at the heavily secured building, with Capitol Police and guardsmen on duty and the streets and grounds around the building closed off with an imposing razor-wiretopped fence erected after the Jan. 6 riot. There also was no evidence of a large group heading to Washington despite the warning.
Still, the threat distressed law enforcement officials, who are grappling with how best to secure the Capitol after a dismal showing in January, when rioters sent lawmakers fleeing the iconic building in a stunning siege broadcast around the world. Five people died in the riot, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer and a woman shot by police.
Several investigations are underway into security and intelligence failures, and lawmakers have asked for a long-term plan for when the Guard eventually withdraws. Right now, there are about 5,200 remaining in D.C., the last of the roughly 26,000 who were brought in for Biden’s inauguration, which went off with no problems.
Members of both parties have complained that the fence encircling the Capitol seals off access to constituents and the general public, projecting an image at odds with the seat of American democracy.
The most recent threat appeared to be connected to a far-right conspiracy theory, promoted mainly by supporters of QAnon, that Trump would rise again to power on March 4 — Thursday — and that thousands would go to Washington to try to remove Democrats from office. March 4 was the original presidential inauguration day until 1933, when it was moved to Jan. 20.
But Trump was miles away in Florida. In Washington, on one of the warmest days in weeks, the National Mall was almost deserted, save for joggers, journalists and a handful of tourists trying to take photos of the Capitol dome through the fencing.
The House had been expected to have a light schedule but called off its session, staying late Wednesday to wrap up its work in part because of the threat. The Senate remained in session Thursday on Biden’s covid-19 relief bill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., dismissed the “silliness” of the alleged plot to restore Trump.
Still, she said that with “the threat of all the president’s men out there, we have to ensure, with our security, that we are safe enough to do our job, but not impeding” Congress.
Online chatter identified by authorities included discussions among members of the Three Percenters, an anti-government militia group, concerning possible plots against the Capitol on Thursday, according to two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Members of the Three Percenters were among the extremists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
But federal agents found no significant increases in the number of hotel rooms being rented in Washington, or in flights to the area, car rental reservations or buses being chartered. Online chatter about the day on extremist sites was declining.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, was briefed by law enforcement officials about the possible threat and said lawmakers were ready for whatever might come.
“We have the razor wire, we have the National Guard. We didn’t have that Jan. 6. So I feel very confident in the security,” he said.
But those measures aren’t permanent.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael Balsamo, Alan Fram, Mary Clare Jalonick, Colleen Long, Lisa Mascaro and Amanda Seitz of The Associated Press.