Car attack at US Capitol raises fresh questions about security

WASHINGTON: The latest deadly breach of the Capitol’s perimeter could delay the gradual reopening of the building’s grounds to the public just as lawmakers were eyeing a return to more normal security measures following the January 6 insurrection.
Capitol Police officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force, was killed on Friday when a man rammed his car into a barrier outside the Capitol. The driver, Noah Green, was shot dead after he got out of his car and lunged at police with a knife.
The deaths came less than two weeks after the Capitol Police removed an outer fence that had temporarily cut off a wide swath of the area to cars and pedestrians. The fencing had been erected to secure the Capitol after January 6 riots by a mob of Trump supporters. Lawmakers have almost universally loathed the fencing, saying the seat of democracy was meant to be open to the people. But after Friday’s attack, some said they needed to procced with caution. Democrat Tim Ryan, chairman of a House spending committee that oversees security and the Capitol, said that lawmakers would be “reviewing everything”. His committee and others are looking at not only the fence but at the staffing, structure, and intelligence capabilities of the Capitol Police.