Capitol Riot Costs Will Exceed $30 Million, Official Tells Congress
The architect of the Capitol and other officials told lawmakers that the physical and psychological toll of the Jan. 6 riot including damaged artifacts and staff trauma will be extensive.
A bust of former Speaker Champ Clark, hit by chemical spray during the Jan. 6 mob attack at the Capitol, was among the artwork damaged.Credit.Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times
Feb. 24, 2021
WASHINGTON The top operations and maintenance official of the United States Capitol told lawmakers on Wednesday that the costs of the Jan. 6 attack will exceed $30 million, as his office works to provide mental health services, increase security and repair historical statues and other art damaged in the riot.
Conflicting testimonies, communications breakdowns
The panel s top Republican, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., said she hoped we re able to find ways to secure this place without such measures like the fencing.
She pressed the officials on breakdowns in communications between officers on the day of the riot, raising concerns about lawmakers sheltering in the House chamber as the mob made its way inside the building. Are you guys in charge of security on the House floor, or are you just there to make sure we take our coats off when we re on camera? asked Herrera Beutler.
Pittman also addressed the controversy over a report received by the Capitol Police a day before the riot warning of militia groups preparing for war and targeting Congress. She told lawmakers the information was raw intelligence that would not have changed their preparations for Jan. 6. In response to questioning from Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Pittman said the information lined up wi
Acting Capitol Police chief tells lawmakers militia groups seek to blow up the Capitol, targeting Biden speech Nicholas Wu, USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – Yogananda Pittman, the acting chief of the United States Capitol Police, told lawmakers Thursday her agency was reviewing threats from militia groups present during the Jan. 6 riot and warned they seek to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible, possibly targeting President Joe Biden s speech to a joint session of Congress.
Pittman said the continued threats made it prudent for the Capitol Police to maintain their increased level of security at the Capitol.