Hey, remember that time a bunch of armed rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol building in a violent insurrection that left five people dead and many fearing for their lives? You should, since it just happened two months ago. Also there was a whole impeachment trial about it that included footage showing countless terrifying moments, like when the building was breached, lawmakers were rushed into hiding, and a woman was shot. Really, it’s been seared into many people’s minds, especially people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who spoke at length last month about her experience, saying in an Instagram Live, “I thought I was going to die.” And yet, according to Mitch McConnell, enhanced security around the complex is totally overblown and not actually necessary.
A day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request from the Capitol Police to keep roughly 2,300 National Guard troops on Capitol grounds through May 23, the minority leader told reporters, “I think we’ve overdone it.” Claiming that “there are no serious threats against the Capitol,” he insisted, “we‘re way overreacting to the current need,” adding, “I’m extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents can’t come to the Capitol. With all this razor wire around the complex, it reminds me of my last visit to Kabul. This is the capital of the United States of America. Do we need some changes? We probably do. But I think we are continuing to overreact based on current threat levels, to what is needed here at the Capitol. It looks terrible to have the beacon of our democracy surrounded by razor wire and National Guard troops.”
Conspicuously absent from McConnell’s remarks was the fact that the Department of Homeland Security reportedly told law enforcement agencies last week that the threat of violent extremism will continue in 2021 and “could escalate to include targeting of critical infrastructure.” In a recent testimony to Congress, Acting Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said that in the first two months of 2021, there was a 93% increase in threats against Congress members, and last month said that members of extremist groups that participated in the January 6 riot “want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible” during Biden’s first formal speech before a joint session of Congress. McConnell also made no mention of the fact that, when you think about it, he shares much of the responsibility for letting Donald Trump act like a mad king for four years, with predictable, deadly results.
On the other hand, doctors say the Kentucky lawmaker has been dead inside for decades, so it’s not surprising he has little fear of his workplace being subject to another attack.
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