A retired lieutenant general will lead a review of the U.S. Capitol security following the Jan. 6 breach, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday.
“We must subject this whole complex to scrutiny in light of what happened and the fact that the inauguration is coming. To that end, I have asked Lt. Gen. Russel Honore to lead an immediate review of security infrastructure, interagency processes, and command and control,” Pelosi told reporters in Washington.
She called Honore, who headed the Hurricane Katrina Task Force, “a respected leader with experience dealing with crises.” There’s “strong interest” in Congress designating an outside 9/11-type commission to conduct an after-action review, she added. The idea of an independent commission is supported by several Republican senators.
Honore hasn’t yet commented on the review. His social media pages are littered with posts against President Donald Trump and the Trump administration and he has called to put Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who refused to go through a metal detector on Capitol Hill this week, on a no-fly list. Honore didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Protesters stormed the Capitol last week, interrupting a joint session of Congress convened to count electoral votes. They wrought damage to the inside of the building and clashed with law enforcement officers, leading to the death of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. Four others died from injuries suffered that day, including an Air Force veteran, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a different officer while trying to enter the Speaker’s Lobby.
Federal prosecutors wrote in a motion filed late Thursday in a case against Jacob Chansley, who was seen inside the Capitol shirtless, wearing a hat with horns, that some of the people who entered the building wanted to “capture and assassinate elected officials.”
Members of the House are progressing with strong oversight of what unfolded, Pelosi said.
Democrats and some Republicans blamed what happened on Trump, who gave a speech at The Ellipse, a park about two miles away from the Capitol when police lines began being broken through. Lawmakers impeached Trump on Wednesday and a Senate trial is expected to commence later this month.
Trump and his advisers have defended the speech and pointed out that there are signs the breach was planned. They’ve also noted that some people who don’t support Trump took place in the breach, including a Black Lives Matter activist.
Another review will be handled by the inspector generals of the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice, the agencies said Friday.
