The 8-foot fencing that has surrounded the entire U.S. Capitol since early January will come down as soon as Friday, House officials announced.
Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker alerted lawmakers and staff in a memo Wednesday that the Capitol Police and other law enforcement officials “assessed the current threat environment” and jointly determined to take down the nonscalable fencing.
“The Architect of the Capitol has the ability to, and will expeditiously reinstall the temporary fencing should conditions warrant,” Walker wrote to members.
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Lawmakers in both parties have called for removal of the fencing. It was installed shortly after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when hundreds of violent protesters overwhelmed police and security barriers and pushed their way into the building while the House and Senate were both in session.
A wider fencing perimeter was removed earlier this year, as was concertina wire that had been strung across the top of the fencing. Thousands of National Guard troops stationed on the campus left in May.
Lawmakers are demanding the Capitol reopen to regular business and to visitors and tours, but Walker wrote to members that “current building access restrictions will remain in place.”
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Walker said it would take about three days to remove all of the fencing once the process starts. The decision to take it down, Walker said, is part of “incremental modifications to the security posture of the Capitol Campus.”
