Capitol Police request Guard’s stay be extended
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reviewing a police request to keep National Guard troops patrolling the U.S. Capitol for another 60 days following evidence of a “possible plot” by a militia group to storm the building again, two months after Trump supporters 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 razorwiretopped fence erected after the Jan. 6 riot. There was also 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 under way into security and intelligence failures, and lawmakers have asked for a longterm 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 President 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 farright conspiracy theory, mainly promoted by supporters of QAnon, that former President Donald Trump would rise again to power on March 4 and that thousands would come 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 in late Wednesday to wrap up its work in part because of the threat. The Senate remained in session Thursday on Biden’s big COVID19 relief bill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DSan Francisco, dismissed the “silliness” of the alleged plot to restore Trump.
Still, she said 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 antigovernment 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.