Shutting public out of Capitol is wrong way to safeguard our democracy

Appearing before House lawmakers, the acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police ticked off the factors that allowed a mob to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6. A lack of manpower. Insufficient supply of “less-lethal” weapons. Confused and garbled communications. Possible failure in lockdown procedures. She apologized for all the failures — but also said that if Congress wants to prevent future attacks, it will need to increase fortifications and sacrifice public access to the building.

“In my experience, I do not believe there was any preparations that would have allowed for an open campus in which lawful protesters could exercise their First Amendment right to free speech and at the same time prevented the attack on Capitol grounds that day,” acting chief Yogananda Pittman told a closed session of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, according to a prepared statement of her remarks obtained by The

Washington Post. Removing any doubt about her desire to fence off public areas of the Capitol grounds, the acting chief on Thursday issued a statement in which she “unequivocally” endorsed increases to the physical security infrastructure, including permanent fencing.

No surprise that the agency charged with ensuring the safety of the Capitol would push for restrictions to keep the public out. That would certainly make its job easier. But members of Congress need to recognize the costs — to Washington and to the country’s democracy — to turn the Capitol into a fenced and armed fortress. Congress should not allow the seditious actions of hooligans to be an excuse for closing off even more public space in the capital city.

Over time — after Oklahoma City, after 9/11 — the Capitol has become less and less accessible to the public. Roads closed in the name of security became parking perks for Capitol Hill staffers. Tourists must navigate a maze of security checkpoints. District of Columbia residents walking or biking on the public grounds have become accustomed to sometimes demeaning treatment from police. It took an act of Congress to tell the Capitol Police it was OK for children to sled on a slope of the Capitol grounds.

We know the days of total openness are long gone, but before there is any more loss of precious space and all its intangible value, Congress should determine exactly what went wrong on Jan. 6 and why. Would a fence really have addressed the failings that allowed the Capitol to be invaded? Washington is no stranger to large protests — from the civil rights era to Vietnam to the Million Man March — so surely there is a way people can exercise their First Amendment rights without permanently closing off public access.

What happened Jan. 6 was not a protest but rather widespread political violence against the very institutions of our democracy incited by a president who thankfully is no longer in office. To the damage he has done to the country, let’s not add turning Washington into a “Green Zone.”