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Top Democrat Grills Capitol Police About Lawmaker Protection After Pelosi Attack Top Democrat Grills Capitol Police About Lawmaker Protection After Pelosi Attack
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — One of the most senior Democrats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday demanded to know why the Capitol Police did not do more to prevent the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home last week, and questioned what the agency was doing to improve security for members of Congress and their families.WASHINGTON — One of the most senior Democrats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday demanded to know why the Capitol Police did not do more to prevent the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home last week, and questioned what the agency was doing to improve security for members of Congress and their families.
In a lengthy letter that included a litany of concerns about how the Capitol Police manage threats to lawmakers, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the Administration Committee, questioned several of the department’s policies and practices, including an apparent decision to turn down an invitation from the F.B.I. for some of its officers to join terrorism task forces that investigate threats against members of Congress.In a lengthy letter that included a litany of concerns about how the Capitol Police manage threats to lawmakers, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the Administration Committee, questioned several of the department’s policies and practices, including an apparent decision to turn down an invitation from the F.B.I. for some of its officers to join terrorism task forces that investigate threats against members of Congress.
“The department has previously reported to the committee that the speaker receives the most threats of any member of Congress,” Ms. Lofgren wrote to Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Capitol Police, asking why his department had not extended “coverage to the spouses and/or other family members of the congressional leaders in the presidential line of succession.”“The department has previously reported to the committee that the speaker receives the most threats of any member of Congress,” Ms. Lofgren wrote to Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Capitol Police, asking why his department had not extended “coverage to the spouses and/or other family members of the congressional leaders in the presidential line of succession.”
The five-page letter from Ms. Lofgren, whose panel oversees Capitol security, came a day after reports that a review had flagged several lapses in police protection of the Pelosi household. Capitol Police surveillance cameras captured the break-in, but costly minutes went by before any officer reviewed the footage. A security review also found that the San Francisco police stopped posting a car in front of the Pelosi household 24 hours a day, as the agency had after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Ms. Lofgren also questioned why the Capitol Police had not entered into a formal agreement with the San Francisco police for a car to be posted 24 hours a day outside Ms. Pelosi’s house, as had been the practice in the months after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Mr. Pelosi was badly injured in the assault, suffering a fractured skull. A 42-year-old man, David DePape, has been charged with attempting to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and assaulting a relative of a federal official. Mr. DePape, who had embraced far-right conspiracy theories, told investigators that he wished to break Ms. Pelosi’s kneecaps and see her “wheeled into Congress” as a lesson to other members. And she questioned why the agency did not refer more cases to U.S. attorneys for prosecution. Members of Congress received at least 9,625 threats in 2021, but only 217 cases were referred for prosecution. A spokesman for the Capitol Police told The Times last month that most of those threatening lawmakers were mentally ill and believed to pose no genuine threat, so the goal was to get them treatment rather than send them to jail.
Law enforcement leaders on Capitol Hill said Tuesday they planned to strengthen protections for members of Congress, after the attack highlighted a turbulent threat environment that endangers not only lawmakers, but also their families. The five-page letter from Ms. Lofgren, whose panel oversees Capitol security, came a day after reports that a review had flagged several lapses in police protection of the Pelosi household. Capitol Police surveillance cameras captured the break-in, but costly minutes went by before any officer reviewed the footage.
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress,” Chief Manger said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he could not disclose the security upgrades he was planning to implement. “This plan would include an emphasis on adding redundancies to the measures that are already in place for congressional leadership.” Capitol Police responded to those reports in a statement Wednesday that said the agency’s command center has access to roughly 1,800 cameras, but not all are constantly monitored.
When Ms. Pelosi is in San Francisco, the agency “actively” monitors her home there “around the clock” but does not do so when she is in Washington with her security detail, police said. Still, the agency said, its command center noticed the police activity on the screen and assisted investigators.
“We will fast-track the work we have already been doing to enhance the protection of members outside of Washington, D.C., while also providing new protective options that will address concerns following Friday’s targeted attack,” the statement from the agency said, adding: “In the meantime, a significant change that will have an immediate impact will be for people across our country to lower the temperature on political rhetoric before it’s too late.”
Mr. Pelosi, 82, was badly injured in the assault, suffering a fractured skull, and remains in intensive care. A 42-year-old man, David DePape, has been charged with attempting to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and assaulting a relative of a federal official. Mr. DePape, who had embraced far-right conspiracy theories, told investigators that he wished to break Ms. Pelosi’s kneecaps and see her “wheeled into Congress” as a lesson to other members.
Law enforcement leaders on Capitol Hill said Tuesday they planned to beef up protections for members of Congress, after the attack highlighted an out-of-control threat environment that endangers not only lawmakers, but their families as well.
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress,” Chief Manger said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he could not disclose the security upgrades he was planning. “This plan would include an emphasis on adding redundancies to the measures that are already in place for congressional leadership.”