Militia groups aim to ‘blow up’ Capitol building as Biden addresses joint Congress

'They want to kill as many members as possible.'

Feb 25, 2021

Militia groups linked to the Jan. 6 riots want to “blow up” the Capitol building and “kill as many members as possible” on the day President Joe Biden addresses Congress.

During a House hearing on Thursday regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection, Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the United States Capitol Police, told lawmakers about threats from militia groups threatening violence when Biden delivers his State of the Union address, Fox News reports.

“We know that members of the militia groups that were present on Jan. 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union, which we know that date has not been identified,” Pittman said before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch.

“We know that the insurrectionists that attacked the Capitol weren’t only interested in attacking members of Congress and officers: they wanted to send a symbolic message to the nation as to who was in charge of that legislative process,” she added.

During the hearing, Pittman and Timothy Blodgett, the acting House Sergeant at Arms, were grilled about security failures during the deadly Capitol riots last month. theGRIO previosuly reported, federal officials estimate that roughly 800 people poured into the building, and among them were a mix of behaviors that included people dressed for military battle, people moving in formation, people committing reckless vandalism, and people simply going with the flow of the crowd into the building. National Guard troops have remained in Washington since ordered was restored.

During the hearing on Thursday, Pittman was vague about when the troops would be sent back to their home states.

“We have no intention of keeping the National Guard soldiers or that fencing any longer than what is actually needed. We’re actively working with a scaled-down approach so that we can make sure that we address three primary variables,” Pittman said.

Acting Capitol Police Chief Recommends Permanent Fencing Around US Capitol — WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 29: An eight-foot-tall steel fence topped with concertina razor wire circles the U.S. Capitol on January 29, 2021, in Washington, DC. The fence was built following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“One is the known threat to the environment, two is the infrastructure vulnerabilities and then that third variable being the limitations the US Capitol’s police knows that it has as it relates to human capital and technology resources,” she added.

“The temporary infrastructure is only to address the vulnerabilities after the attack of January 6. Our priority is to make sure that the members of Congress are safe, and that democratic process is protected. Once we have appropriate infrastructure and human assets in place we will lean forward with the removal of the fencing,” she said.

In a statement to CNN earlier this month, a Department of Homeland Security said officials are not currently tracking any “credible or specific threats” of violence targeting Washington, DC. and lawmakers.

“The most significant terrorism-related threat currently facing the nation comes from lone offenders and small groups of individuals inspired by domestic extremist ideological beliefs, including those based on false narratives spread over social media and other online platforms,” the spokesperson added.

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