State Capitol Campus security tightened since Mansion break-in attempt a year ago
It’s been exactly one year since the nation’s Capitol was stormed by insurrectionists.
But as reports from D.C. were coming in that day, hundreds of people also gathered at the state Capitol Campus in Olympia for “Operation Occupy the Capitol.” While they were there to protest a multitude of grievances, including mask mandates and other pandemic-related issues, several went to protest the perceived election irregularities from the 2020 presidential election.
As the day progressed, the speakers and crowd got more riled.
A smaller group split off and soon broke through the gate to the Governor’s Mansion. Gov. Jay Inslee was taken to a safe room within the Mansion but that didn’t stop the protesters from attempting to enter, only to be stopped short by the Washington State Patrol. Some people in the crowd took out their aggression on reporters, assaulting some of them even.
The acts were immediately condemned by legislators from both parties. Temporary security fences were constructed around the Capitol Campus and remained until the legislature adjourned.
To prevent something similar from happening again, legislators and law enforcement have made adjustments to security measures around the Capitol Campus.
“We can’t afford to assume that bad things won’t happen,” said Chris Loftis, communications director for WSP.
Since the Jan. 6 incident from last year, WSP has increased security and the law enforcement “apparatus” on campus, he said. That includes increasing personnel and adding equipment, cameras and vehicles.
“We were prepared last year, we’re better prepared now, I think,” he added.
Legislators too have changed the way they think about staying safe.
House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, said he is a lot more careful about security than he used to be.
“The stuff that was surrounding the elections last year worried me,” he said.
In addition to taking protective measures at his home, he now takes extra security precautions while he’s at the Capitol, though he was hesitant to talk on record about what those were.
Wilcox said he doesn’t believe the crowd that day was necessarily overall violent, but he still has not forgotten that some press got hurt.
“I’m trying not to be too nice to them either,” he said. “They showed their colors in the back of the crowd.”
Last year, Loftis said WSP was aware that the groups would show up, but he said there was no indication what turn the day would take. He added that he thinks people should be careful about conflating what happened in D.C. to what happened in Olympia.
Still, he noted, some of the tensions from last year are present.
“There’s still a lot of fuel for a fire,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready for a fire. But we’ve also got to be prudent, careful and respectful so that the actions we take, seen or unseen, don’t light a match.”
Others at the capitol agree.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said he thinks the temperature is “still high.”
“There is still an alarmingly large number of people out there that are spreading the lie of election fraud and unfortunately a lot of people that believe it,” Billig said.
He added that campus security and WSP have “done good work to keep everyone safe” by staying vigilant in addressing and identifying security concerns.
Inslee also expressed concerns during a press conference Wednesday, saying there is an ongoing effort to continue a coup in the U.S.
“It’s a continuing threat to democracy and we are at great risk,” the governor said.
However, Loftis said there is no specific intelligence that indicated anything similar would happen in Olympia on Thursday, the anniversary of last year’s storming of the Mansion.
In the year that has passed, three arrests have been made out of the four warrants that were issued, according to Loftis. Charges included trespassing, harassment and assault. Because the cases are still pending, Loftis would not talk about them in detail.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
