“The six kilometers of fences that now surround the Capitol will do nothing to prevent another attack or help us understand the underlying flaws that allowed the riot to happen,” wrote Honoré in a Washington Post article that criticized the federal police’s response earlier. and during the attack on the United States Capitol complex.
The barbed wire and about 2.1 meters in place after the pro-Trump crowd attacked the Capitol became a point of contention between the Capitol Police and lawmakers. Members of Congress on both sides of the corridor became increasingly frustrated and quickly rejected the Capitol Police’s proposal in late January to build a permanent fence.
Honoré said in his article that the Capitol fence “provides a false sense of security” and compares it to the southern border wall, which he describes as an “expensive failure”.
“The complete breakdown in law enforcement was preventable,” he wrote. “We have been slow to accept the reality that a danger to our democracy is also within our borders. We have not wanted to invest in personnel and resources to face these dangers.”
He argued that what the Capitol needs instead of fences is “more staff, more intelligence gathering resources, better coordination with other federal law enforcement agencies, stronger internal lines of authority and a clearer command focus on threats to public property and public officials. ”
Honoré also suggested replacing the fence with retractable barriers and an updated video surveillance system.
“Capitol’s security apparatus is delayed for an overhaul,” he added.
Honoré’s task force released its final report on Monday, which calls for radical changes to improve the emergency response of the US Capitol Police and several security enhancements around the Capitol complex – the first formal effort to resolve the issues. security breaches.
The report also includes recommendations to increase the Capitol Police’s intelligence collection capabilities, adding a permanent rapid reaction force and implementing mobile fences that can replace the current temporary security structure, according to a copy obtained by CNN.
Democratic aides told CNN that many of the report’s recommendations are likely to be included in a House Appropriations Committee supplementary security bill.
CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.
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