WASHINGTON—The U.S. Congress is considering granting its members more armed personal protection after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10.
Kirk was assassinated by an unknown shooter while speaking to an outdoor crowd of students at Utah Valley University.
The killer fired a single shot at Kirk from 200 yards away, which hit him in the neck and caused a visible loss of blood.
He was rushed to the hospital and later confirmed dead.
The shooting has prompted calls from members of Congress, who also frequently speak to public and outdoor audiences, for greater security provided by the government.
While demand has been frequently discussed in recent years after other assassination attempts, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated on Sept. 11 that the body would be considering new requests expeditiously.
“We’re in a deliberate review process right now to determine what measures are appropriate, how much we could allocate for that,” Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol building.
The U.S. Capitol Police, a law enforcement agency under the exclusive control of the legislative branch, is responsible for providing security to Congress.
Physical security for the Capitol Complex is provided by the uniformed division, while personal security for the leaders of Congress—the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the majority and minority leaders and whips of both houses, as well as some former occupants of these offices—is provided by Capitol Police special agents.
Those agents have jurisdiction throughout the nation and frequently travel worldwide.
Committee chairs and ranking members, as well as backbench members, do not ordinarily receive Capitol Police security details, although certain members—such as Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)—have, at times, received security details for a specified period of time, when warranted.
Providing personal security to every member would require a dramatic increase in manpower, as there are 100 senators, 435 representatives, and six territorial delegates and resident commissioners.
Johnson told reporters that, for this reason, universal coverage was “not a possibility.”
The Capitol Police Board—comprising the sergeants-at-arms of both houses, the architect of the Capitol, and the chief of police—makes decisions about which members receive personal security details.
Security teams for members, at minimum, comprise between two and four armed special agents, as well as a government-provided Chevrolet Suburban that is a police vehicle, which may be armored.
The security detail travels with the protectee wherever that person goes, and the government reimburses the team for travel and transportation.
The cost of providing Capitol Police details varies depending on the size of the security package, which is greater for senior leaders of Congress in the presidential line of succession, such as the speaker and president pro tempore.
The costs are not publicly disclosed, and the Capitol Police, as a whole, is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
Backbench members who lack full-time Capitol Police details, nonetheless, sometimes obtain private security at their own expense or through their campaign organization.
At town halls and other events, local police may be deployed to physically protect the venue and keep the peace, although this is not required by law and depends on the jurisdiction.
“The vitriol, the level that is there now, the hatred that is fomented ... there is a time when we’ve got to turn the volume down.
“People find pleasure stoking that fire, and that’s dangerous ... there are deranged people in society.”
U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment.
