Questions linger about Capitol security

The attack on the United States Capitol that happened Wednesday was a travesty and a national embarrassment by any measure, one that resulted in multiple unnecessary deaths, untold chaos and destruction at the very seat of American legislative power.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the infiltrators seem to have been for the most part a disorganized and unruly mob, focused mainly on taking irreverent selfies, live streaming their escapades to internet fans, and stealing and defacing property. A strategic attempt to overthrow the government this was not.

And we’re all very lucky that was the case.

The openness of the Capitol, the transparency with which Congress operates, the great freedom to protest and petition legislators, are all points of pride in the American system. But the ease with which a violent mob was able to completely overrun the building containing several hundred of the most powerful people in the nation, and gain access to nonpublic documents and devices in congressional offices, is shocking and is sure to have been closely observed by foreign governments the world over.

How could such an event possibly occur?

Baseless conspiracy theories already abound online about Capitol Police facilitating the entry of the rioters into the building. Videos purporting to support such ideas have been taken out of context as massively outnumbered officers flee when the crowd overruns the police line. In addition, some rioters were wearing stolen or foraged police gear, further confusing matters.

Tear gas was deployed on out-of-control rioters until the crowd overpowered the officers and turned the gas back on them.

Overwhelmed Capitol Police were hit in the head with lead pipes and violently pressed back by the mob, leading to dozens of injuries and hospitalizations and at least one death so far. Video released Friday shows officers holding back agitated Trump supporters from breaking through the barricaded glass doors into the Speaker’s Lobby where lawmakers were being evacuated in the background, including Rep. Jim Mcgovern, D-mass.

One agitated Trump supporter repeatedly punches and shatters the glass inches from the faces of the officers. Sadly, the standoff ended in the death of Ashli Babbitt, a rioter shot by police as she climbed through the broken glass toward where the congressmen had fled minutes before.

The bravery and sacrifice of the Capitol Police in the face of the violence deserves to be commended, not questioned. But the question remains, how were they left so outnumbered and unsupported in the face of a massive rally where violence had been openly planned for weeks? The New York Times reported Wednesday that

Gab and Parler users had been posting about prying open doors and carrying guns into the halls of Congress in the runup to the march.

And not only was there warning, but during the attack itself there appeared to be, if not deliberate malfeasance, at least confusion and incompetence barring the deployment of backup for beleaguered Capitol Police.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday that when he was called in the middle of the siege by Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer from an undisclosed location, he lacked permission to deploy Maryland’s National Guard to the aid of the embattled Capitol, and that he had been “repeatedly denied” approval.

The day before the protests and riots, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly wrote to the Justice Department that she discouraged the deployment of additional troops due to problems that had occurred coordinating with them over the summer. Did this delay aid from arriving on Capitol Hill?

Whether this was an intentional act or simply a miscommunication in a moment of chaos and confusion amid competing law enforcement jurisdictions remains to be seen. But it is a question that must be answered. The response to violence at the seat of government must be swift and effective.

Had the attack Wednesday been perpetrated by more ruthless and organized actors, who knows what the outcome might have been. And as it stands, those precious moments may have contributed to the loss of life in the Capitol that day.

These events must be fully investigated and anything like this prevented in the future.