Holmes Norton: Capitol Security ‘Approaching Being Overdone’ – ‘Can’t Keep Being Afraid in Our Own Capitol of Our Own People’

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) stated that some of the security precautions for the Capitol are “approaching being overdone.” And “We really can’t keep being afraid in our own Capitol of our own people.” Norton especially criticized the House adjourning on Thursday, stating that “we have got to get back to the Capitol we’ve known. And we’re not going to do that if we continue to have a March 4, where the House adjourns and nothing happened.”

Norton said, “Well, I’d certainly rather have the Guard than the fencing. And as long as the Guard is here based on credible intelligence, I, of course, have no objection to that. But look what we’ve just had, March 4, we were told — indeed, the House adjourned because of the threats about March 4. We really can’t keep being afraid in our own Capitol of our own people. So, I think some of this is approaching being overdone. As long as it’s based on credible intelligence and especially if it doesn’t mean more fencing, then of course, that’s the thing to do. But we have got to get back to the Capitol we’ve known. And we’re not going to do that if we continue to have a March 4, where the House adjourns and nothing happened.”

She added, “We have got to stop calling off business, or else what you’re going to have are people making threats all the time and the Congress not being able to get its work done. All you’ve got to do is call in the threat, and that’s it.”

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