Friday’s deadly attack at the US Capitol expected to reignite the debate over security fencing erected after riot
insurrection at the Capitol, surrounding the campus that tourists and residents like to visit. As weeks passed, they were deemed unnecessary and some portions of the barriers came down in mid-March. Fencing was also modified to allow more traffic near the Capitol. like Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs in front of the White House, was after the Oklahoma City bombing.
Access to Capitol over the years has become more arduous with the additions of metal detectors, screenings for visitors, and tank traps for vehicles. But authorities have sought to keep easy public access to the “People’s House” while still bolstering security, unlike the White House, which is harder to get close to and requires scheduled tours.
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California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, who was at the Capitol Friday, said the incident is a reminder that the building and what it represents remains a target.
“It seemed like we were finally getting back to what the Capitol should be a place where anyone could visit,” Khanna told MSNBC. “But you know this incident, I think it shows that there’s still a threat and security and safety has to come first, not just for members of Congress, but for all of the people who work here and people who visit here.”
Khanna said Friday’s attack was especially unnerving given what happened on Jan. 6.
32 lawmakers ask for additional security after Capitol attack, ‘significant uptick in threats’
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The letter, which was sent by a bipartisan group of 32 House lawmakers, noted members of Congress “have reported receiving a significant uptick in threats of violence and even death” and pointed out a rise over the years, from 902 threats investigated by authorities in 2016 to nearly 5,000 in 2018.
While the notion of how much security to provide the Capitol is expected to continue, it’s nothing new. The issue of security at the complex and a permanent fence surrounding it has been raging for decades.
But after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, multiple shootings and even two bombings, lawmakers have largely elected to keep the campus open to the American public.
Friday’s attack is the latest violence at the US Capitol, the site of shootings, bombings and riots over the last 50 years
After the 1983 blast, congressional leadership proposed possibly erecting an iron fence around the Capitol that would force visitors to walk through metal detectors before they even reached the building. The plan also included banning any parking on the grounds.
But, like today’s debate, lawmakers struggled with weighing the security risks with having a symbol of America’s democracy surrounded by fencing like military infrastructure.
”The terrorists have won,” Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., was quoted in The New York Times in 1986 over the debate. ”Not the war, but at least part of the psychological battle.”
”The terrorists have not won,” fellow Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston, of California, shot back, according to the Times. ”But reasonable people take reasonable precautions.”
Contributing: Ledge King