New normal: Fence is up, Guard on standby for State of Union

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By COLLEEN LONG and MICHAEL BALSAMO

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fencing around the U.S. Capitol is back up for the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. Police cars with flashing lights are stationed at major intersections and highways. The U.S. National Guard is on standby.

It’s the new normal.

While there are no specific or credible threats related to President Joe Biden’s speech, law enforcement officials are taking no chances following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob caught the District of Columbia by surprise and successfully stormed the U.S. Capitol, briefly disrupting the certification of Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.

Since then, the U.S. Capitol Police, charged with protecting lawmakers and anyone else in and around the Capitol, has beefed up security for planned protests in the area. And this time, officials are also preparing for trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning this week, though officials aren’t concerned about serious security issues with the possible protests.



A security fence put in place in preparation for President Joe Biden's State of the Union address surrounds the U.S. Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/state-of-the-union-address-joe-biden-district-of-columbia-us-national-guard-b1139b35cecaae3423aab5dce35e11af

[Lovie777]

1. Putin will be proud of the GQP.....

[IronLionZion]

2. GQP is proud of Putin

Freepers post a lot of pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine nonsense and Q is solidly in support of Putin as the new savior against some imaginary evil stuff Ukraine is up to.

[DownriverDem]

3. No choice

The trumper crazies want to make their presence known.

[ancianita]

4. Correction: UNARMED Guard is on "standby." "no specific or credible threats" existed on Jan 6, too.

Someone or some agency is not learning lessons.

[Evolve Dammit]

6. That sounds totally accurate to me. They simply don't take the threat seriously.

[ancianita]

7. OR

they simply DO harbor an ideological & pro-white protection bias that
a) gets them beat down on Jan 6, and
b) pulls out all the enforcement arms only when non-white citizens show up,
c) passively refuses to coordinate with local law enforcement.
d) gives aid and comfort to seditionists

It only takes one gun to get "slipped" past them, and it's small comfort that there are redundant protections like the Secret Service.

[Evolve Dammit]

8. does make one wonder..

[samsingh]

5. New normal because of the GOP

[RobinA]

9. This State Of Affairs

is pretty much why I stopped visiting DC, which I think is a beautiful city, particularly in the spring. It started looking like a third world country after 9/11, with barricades, fencing, etc. I get the need for security, but I can't look at it like this.

[Grins]

10. Not for Antifa! Not for Black Lives Matter! For...

…REPUBLICANS. Every seditionist at the January 6 attempted Coup d’Etat had THAT in common!