Fears over lax security in Republican-controlled House two years after Capitol attack

Two years after the January 6 insurrection, fresh fears are being raised over safety for lawmakers and staff at the US Capitol, especially as Republicans have stripped away some of the security measures installed in the wake of the deadly attack on Congress.

House Republicans, who secured a narrow majority in the 2022 midterm elections, removed the metal detectors outside the House chamber ready for the first day of business of the 118th Congress on Tuesday 3 January.

US Capitol police reported 9,625 threats and directions of interest, which means actions or statements that cause concern, against members of Congress in 2021, compared with 3,939 in 2017. Metal detectors remain at the entrance of Congress for visitors and members of the public.

Nevada Democratic representative Steven Horsford, incoming chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, criticized the removal of the metal detectors outside the House chamber, citing increased threats against lawmakers.

Democratic former House speaker Nancy Pelosi had security officials erect the metal detectors to check members of Congress for weapons. These devices quickly became a flashpoint in the bitterly politicized discourse surrounding January 6, which was further intensified by deep partisan division over gun access in the US.

Many Republican members of Congress were unwilling to criticize the rioters that broke into and damaged the Capitol, shaking American democracy two years ago. The mob rampaged through the corridors, chasing and attacking police officers, while also threatening violence against lawmakers of both political parties, who had to flee for their lives. Republicans and the House January 6 committee, meanwhile, both released reports that present dueling narratives.

Later on Friday, Biden was scheduled to speak at the White House to mark the anniversary of the insurrection and warn that extremists who continue to deny that Trump lost the 2020 election, which include hard right Republicans in office as well as conspiracy theorists and many right-leaning voters, pose a danger to American democracy.

The midterm elections last November saw the defeat of many Trump-backed far-right candidates across the US who continue to claim falsely that he was denied a second term in the White House because of widespread voter fraud, and pledged to back harsh voting restrictions.

Among those being honored are seven members of law enforcement, including a posthumous award to Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack, and an award to Officer Eugene Goodman, who was credited with directing rioters away from the Senate floor while lawmakers were evacuating the building.

Following the Capitol attack, some lawmakers were leery of their own colleagues and thought that it was necessary to screen other representatives for firearms or other weapons.

At first, several House Republicans refused to go through the magnetometers, entering the chamber without undergoing weapons screening, and were subsequently fined.

Democratic representative Ted Lieu was disconcerted by the prospect of armed representatives on the House floor.