A new and sweeping security project to lock down gateways to the U.S. Capitol is being planned, aimed at targeting gang assaults and lone wolf attackers like the alleged al Qaeda suicide bomber FBI agents seized earlier this month.
Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers told Washington Secrets that the plan is to spend $7.8 million to secure House and Senate garages “very quickly” should an attacker try bust in. “It’s the ability to kind of secure our garages from entry in a very fast manner,” he said after briefly describing the funding request to a congressional committee.
Ayers said the targets are “car bombs or groups of people or whatever the threat may be.”
The FBI last week arrested a Morrocan man in his 30s who they claim was on a suicide mission to blow up the Capitol. The FBI, who had the man under surveillance for months, said the suspect thought the undercover agents he was working with were associates of al Qaeda.
While Ayers said that the threat of a suicide bomber or terrorist gang attack is not new, officials are warning lawmakers and Capitol security against a developing type of assault called a “blended attack.” He said that those combine a physical attack against a target along with a cyber-attack against the same or different targets. He raised that issue during congressional testimony to justify a Capitol electrical upgrade and backup computer facility.
Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers told Washington Secrets that the plan is to spend $7.8 million to secure House and Senate garages “very quickly” should an attacker try bust in. “It’s the ability to kind of secure our garages from entry in a very fast manner,” he said after briefly describing the funding request to a congressional committee.
Ayers said the targets are “car bombs or groups of people or whatever the threat may be.”
The FBI last week arrested a Morrocan man in his 30s who they claim was on a suicide mission to blow up the Capitol. The FBI, who had the man under surveillance for months, said the suspect thought the undercover agents he was working with were associates of al Qaeda.
While Ayers said that the threat of a suicide bomber or terrorist gang attack is not new, officials are warning lawmakers and Capitol security against a developing type of assault called a “blended attack.” He said that those combine a physical attack against a target along with a cyber-attack against the same or different targets. He raised that issue during congressional testimony to justify a Capitol electrical upgrade and backup computer facility.
