US Strengthens Capitol Security Against New Extremist Assault Threat

The Congress of U.S. is under strong security measures this Thursday, a day after the police announced that a “militia” planned to attack it, fanning the memory of the assault on the Capitol by extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump on January 6.

That group refuses to accept the electoral victory of the democrat Joe Biden and they consider that Trump is due to be sworn in for a second term this Thursday.

National Guard troops patrol around the Capitol, protected since January 6 by high fences, crowned in some areas by barbed wire.

With that deployment, it is difficult to imagine a repeat of what happened two months ago, when thousands of pro-Trump protesters, gathered in front of Congress to hear a speech by the then president, decided to storm the headquarters of Congress.

The House of Representatives brought two votes scheduled for Thursday night to Wednesday night, but its president, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, gave her weekly press conference from the building in the morning, and the Senate held its session.

Those responsible for security in Congress advised parliamentarians to use the parking lots and underground corridors to access the Capitol and asked them to take extreme precautions.

The fear is the result of information obtained by the US intelligence services.

In late February, an “unidentified group of extremists mentioned the project to take control of the US Capitol,” the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security explained in a statement.

Those extremists, convinced that Biden’s victory in the November presidential elections was due to fraud, deny the legitimacy of the president, who arrived at the White House on January 20.

“We have obtained intelligence information that shows a possible plot to break into the Capitol, by an identified militia, on Thursday, March 4”Capitol Police said Wednesday on Twitter.

Trump, who has lived in Florida since leaving Washington, did not react to that news.

Deserted streets

During the presidency of Trump, the movement QAnon promoted the idea that the Republican would save the world from an “elite composed of Satanist pedophiles.” The large social networks vetoed the group, which makes it more difficult to follow the activity of its members.

Many of them became discouraged after the failure of the January 6 assault, and their mobilization capacity is uncertain.

Room prices at the luxurious Trump International hotel near Congress soared to $ 1,331 a night Wednesday and Thursday, up from $ 476 at the end of March.

But this Thursday morning, the streets were almost deserted, a far cry from the turmoil leading up to the day of the attack on Congress.

Five people, including a Capitol police officer, were killed during the assault. More than 270 are being investigated for their involvement in that coup, according to the FBI.

Charged with “incitement to insurrection” for having urged his supporters to march before the headquarters of Congress, Trump was acquitted by the Senate on February 13.

The president never accepted the result of the presidential elections and continues to assure, without proof, that his defeat was the result of massive fraud.