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US President Joe Biden said he was devastated after the attack near the Capitol that left one officer dead and another injured on Friday. At the moment the authorities do not consider what happened as an act related to “terrorism”
A policeman died and another was injured this Friday after a person ran them over in front of the United States Capitol, before getting out of the car knife in hand and being killed, three months after the takeover perpetrated by followers of former president Donald Trump.
At the moment the authorities do not consider what happened as an act related to “terrorism”
As the police explained this afternoon, the attacker rammed his vehicle into a security barrier next to the Capitol, exited the vehicle with a knife in his hand and ran to attack the two officers.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that one of the officers has succumbed to his injuries,” Yogananda Pittman, Acting Chief of the Capitol Police, announced at a press conference to comment on what happened.
Pittman explained that the attacker – who was later identified by local media as Noah Green, 25 – was shot by officers after exiting the vehicle and wielding a knife “aggressively” at them. He died shortly after in a Washington hospital.
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The authorities have stated that the security threat has now ended and that the event “appears” to be unrelated to a terrorist act.
Just after one in the afternoon, the Capitol Police sent a message to the offices of the congressmen in which they alerted of “an external security threat” and indicated that the facilities were closed.
Immediately, there was a huge police and security deployment on the outskirts of the Capitol, in the center of the American capital.
Congress is in recess for the Easter holidays so legislators and senators are not inside, and the facilities were practically empty.
For his part, US President Joe Biden left the White House this morning to spend the weekend at the Camp David rest home on the outskirts of Washington.
What did Biden say?
“Jill and I were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack at a security checkpoint on the United States Capitol compound, which killed Officer William Evans of the United States Capitol Police, and left a partner fighting for his life, “Biden said in a statement.
The president, who traveled to Camp David, the traditional official retreat of the leaders in the mountains of Maryland, to spend the weekend, sent his condolences to the family of the deceased agent and “to all who mourn his loss.”
“We know how difficult this moment has been for the Capitol, for all who work there and for those who protect it,” added Biden, whose inauguration ceremony, on January 20, passed under a strict security operation after that on the 6th of that month groups related to former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.
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Regarding what happened this Friday, Biden assured that he has been receiving “continuous reports” and expressed his gratitude to the Capitol Police, the Immediate Response Force of the National Guard and the others who responded quickly to the events.
“As we mourn the loss of another brave Capitol Police officer, I have ordered the White House flags to be lowered to half mast,” he announced.
The shadow of the January attack
Pittman said that because the investigation is ongoing, he could not offer more details while acknowledging that members of the Capitol police are going through “extremely difficult times.”
The information immediately revived the tragic events of January 6 when a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump carried out a violent assault on the Capitol, which left five dead, and offered images unheard of in recent US history. .
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Among those killed was a Capitol Police officer.
Due to this attack, Trump was subjected to his second impeachment trial in the Senate, of which he was acquitted on February 13, after having already left the White House.
The attack at that time occurred when legislators were in full session to certify the result of the presidential elections last November in which Democrat Joe Biden prevailed over Trump, who for weeks refused to acknowledge the electoral defeat.
The United States Capitol has been armored since then, although some of the security fences had been partially removed two weeks ago.
It looks, in fact, more like a military base than the seat of the US Legislature.
Last month, the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, remarked that “the threat of violent domestic extremism, particularly racial and anti-government extremists, did not begin or end on January 6”, noting that “the current environment of high security in the capital is an illustration of it ”.
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At the beginning of March, the Capitol Police requested a 60-day extension of the members of the National Guard deployed in the US capital and who initially planned to withdraw on March 12, shortly after learning of an alleged plan of a militia of break into the building.
“The National Guard should stay as long as necessary,” Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said at a press conference at the time.
This afternoon, after knowing what happened, many congressmen have commented on social networks about this event that will possibly reopen the discussion about the security of the Capitol.
Speaking to CNN, Democrat Adriano Espaillat, for example, declared himself in favor of extending the protection perimeter around Congress again, stating that security comes first. “They can’t get that close,” defended the New York lawmaker.
