“When you have lives at stake, it’s up to law enforcement,” Ruppersberger said. “But it’s an accomplishment when someone shuts down an entire community and people can’t go outside and are told to stay away. We have to stand up as Americans to this. … We’ve got to continue to go to baseball games, continue to go to events. We can’t allow these people to shut us down.”

Michael Cohen, a former speechwriter for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, said authorities reacted too strongly.

“I just think it’s insane what’s going on here,” Cohen said. “I understand the need to be cautious and tell people to be cautious, but to tell people to stay inside because one guy is loose is just crazy.”

“If there was some serial killer on the loose, no one would suggest that we do a lockdown of a whole city,” said Cohen, now a fellow at the Century Foundation. “To me, it just plays on our outsized fears of terrorism. … Part of it is just cover your ass business by public officials.”