Bring down the Capitol Hill fencing

The fence is more than an overreaction, one that makes the United States look like a totalitarian regime trying to keep its own people out. It represents a blind failure to analyze what, in fact, occurred on January 6 at the Capitol and why. The insurrection was the opposite of a spontaneous demonstration. No less than the former president himself, Donald Trump, had promised to make January 6, the day Congress would certify the vote of the Electoral College, “wild,” and then whipped up supporters on the day itself. Yet neither the Capitol Police nor the dozen or so federal security agencies that ultimately responded were called in time to take the obvious preliminary action. Indeed, these forces were not called until after the mob had invaded the Capitol and under-staffed Capitol Police on duty had been easily overcome. Even the usual blocking off of the Capitol during high-profile events like the inauguration did not occur.

Security measures that have been taken around the Capitol would not have been needed at all if not for these avoidable planning and security failures. The most advanced nation in the world has and should use state-of-the-art technology and security protocols superior to military-style fortifications to protect our Capitol. For proponents of a fence, the recent proposal for a retractable fence should more than do. That is the recommendation of the Task Force 1-6, which recently briefed me on its findings and recommendations. I do not object to a retractable fence for the rare occasion when putting it up could be necessary. Beyond an invisible, below-ground, retractable fence, the Task Force made other sensible recommendations, among them improving intelligence with daily intelligence summaries, empowering the Capitol Police chief to augment capacity during emergencies, and hiring additional USCP officers. I have made these and other recommendations part of my bill in which I nonetheless prohibit permanent fencing, the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act (H.R. 1017).