OPINION: Until we can get a better handle on all this, I’m not sure that removing metal detectors in the halls of Congress is a particularly bright idea.
After the deadly attack on the Capitol two years ago today, metal detectors were placed near the House Chamber in an effort to beef up security. It seemed prudent, given that some supporters of then-President Donald Trump admitted in court that they had guns on them.
And yet the danger to our Capitol, our elected officials and the thousands of staffers who work on their behalf hasn’t gone away. Threats against members of Congress are up 400% since 2016, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in December during testimony before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. He added that more than 9,000 threats were logged in 2022 alone. Doesn’t sound like “garbage” to me.
“China and Russia are real threats, and we have to not underplay them by any means, but just going back to the 6th of January, look, it wasn’t China that vandalized the Capitol. It wasn’t Chinese intelligence that broke into Nancy Pelosi’s office. It wasn’t Russia that brought the flex cuffs for Nancy Pelosi or to try to kidnap Vice President Mike Pence. It wasn’t Al-Qaeda that plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Who are these “domestic terrorists,” by the way? Of 73 attacks and plots recorded in 2021, a majority — 52% — are linked to “white supremacist and other like-minded” people, CSIS says.
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