WASHINGTON (AP) – Police officials worried about the possibility of violence at a rally in the country’s capital next week plan to reinstall the protective fences surrounding the U.S. Capitol for months after the January 6 insurrection, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Although no specific measures have been announced, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hinted during her weekly press conference on Wednesday about additional security measures for the Sept. 18 rally saying, “We intend to the integrity of the Capitol is intact “. An information meeting for lawmakers, including congressional leaders, is expected in the coming days.
A security plan that is being finalized calls for a closed perimeter on the streets immediately surrounding the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, though not on Congress office buildings, said the person, who spoke with The Associated Press an official announcement on condition of anonymity.
Capitol police formally requested the fence from the board overseeing it, and it is likely to be approved, according to a Democratic House aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.
Police continue to track intelligence indicating far-right extremist groups as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers plan to attend next week’s rally, which is designed to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people who have been charged in connection with the January uprising. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, however, has said he does not expect his members to attend.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the FBI released new information in hopes of trapping the person suspected of leaving behind two pipe bombs on Capitol Hill the night before the riot, one of the enduring and unsolved mysteries of that chaotic week.
The potential presence of extremist groups at next week’s event is worrying because, while members and associates of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys make up only a fraction of the nearly 600 people who have been charged so far in the riot, s ‘face some of the most serious charges filed.
These charges include allegations that conspired to block Biden’s certification of victory. Several guardians of the oath pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators in the case against their fellow extremists, who according to authorities arrived in Washington ready for violence and willing to do whatever it takes to stop the certification of the vote of the Electoral College.
The fence had been a cruel symbol of the fear of many at the Capitol was heard after the crowd made their way in front of overwhelmed police officers, smashed windows and doors and looted the Capitol while Congress voted to certify Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
The rally scheduled for Sept. 18 comes when Washington has a series of worrying one-off incidents, including, more recently, a man who parked a pickup truck near the Library of Congress and said he had a bomb and a detonator. .
Perhaps most troubling: a series of unexploded ordnance bombs placed near the Capitol on January 5 remain unexplained and no suspects have been charged.
The FBI released a new video of the suspect on Wednesday and a digital map showing the person surrounding the offices of Democratic and Republican national committees, where the bombs were placed. The FBI also said, for the first time, that officers believed the suspect was not from the Washington, D., C. area, but may have been “operating” outside a location near the Capitol.
“Based on the suspect’s travel route to the DNC and the DNC to the RNC, and the manner in which the suspect carries his backpack after placing the bomb pipe in the DNC, the FBI believes the suspect had a location in the vicinity of Folger Park from where the person operated, “the FBI said in a press release. “Reviews of the suspect’s behavior in video footage and interviews with residents of the Capitol Hill neighborhood have led the FBI to believe the suspect is not from the area.”
Some lawmakers and senior union officials were expected to be briefed on the fence plan later this week and another broader briefing planned for House and Senate leaders on Monday.
On Capitol Hill, the policy surrounding fencing in the iconic building and its grounds proved challenging for lawmakers after the January uprising. Many said they did not like closing access, although they acknowledged the increase in the level of security it provided. The fencing finally fell with the promise of re-erecting it if necessary. But the question of what fencing deserves is complicated.
In an interview Wednesday, the district’s Democratic representative, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said she had not yet been informed of the security plans, but understood whether the fence should be reinstalled as a precaution before the next rally.
“I hope we don’t have to close at the Capitol every time there’s a demonstration,” Norton said. But he added: “If they go with the fence, I will not criticize them.”
Norton suggested that after Jan. 6, there would be more robust security preparations ahead of this rally with great caution, although it is scheduled for a Saturday before the House returns to session, a typically sleepy summer afternoon. when there are few legislators or staff they would be working.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see the fence go up,” he said. “Undoubtedly, the preparations will be more than on January 6.”
___
Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Nomaan Merchant and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.