The Capitol Police is keeping its security posture high in response to intelligence that indicates some extremists who joined the Jan. 6 insurrection have discussed plans to attack the building during the State of the Union, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman revealed Thursday.
The chatter among extremists has prompted the Capitol Police to maintain their elevated presence since the riot of January 6, and would only decrease after the threat passes, and other gaps in security have been identified and resolved.
In her testimony before Congress today, the acting Chief said the issue was raised as some lawmakers questioned the optics of the fencing surrounding the Capitol and the National Guard presence.
Also in Pittman’s testimony today, the chief said she pulled former chief Steven Sund’s phone records and confirmed he reached out to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms at 12:58 p.m. and 1:05 p.m., respectively. Sund has told lawmakers that he first reached out at 1:09 p.m. — a timeline that one former sergeant-at-arms disputed in Senate testimony this week.
Former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving told senators he did not hear from Sund until 1:28 p.m. and that no formal request for National Guard assistance was lodged until after 2 p.m. Pittman’s testimony appears to back up the narrative shared by Sund, who resigned shortly after violent insurrectionists threatened the presidential transfer of power.
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