New Capitol Police Chief Warns Threats Are Near Record Highs

WASHINGTON -- The new chief of the U.S. Capitol Police is warning of growing risks from lone-wolf attackers despite increased security after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

J. Thomas Manger said in an interview last week that threats against lawmakers are at historical highs. At the current rate, local and federal police expect to respond to nearly 9,000 threats against members of Congress this year, Manger told the Associated Press.

One of the changes that followed the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was a shift by Capitol Police and the FBI toward greater intelligence-gathering against potential attackers.

Capitol Police received reports that extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump might cause some kind of disruption but they overlooked how real the violence became. As a result, police were unprepared and overwhelmed.

Now Manger is overseeing a $460 million annual budget with 2,300 officers and civilian employees to protect the Capitol and congressional staffers. By comparison, the city of Minneapolis operates with about 800 officers and a $193 million budget.

Manger’s projection for a record year of threats is similar to recent FBI reports of increases in violence nationwide, perhaps tied to frustration over the COVID-19 pandemic. Homicides are up 30 percent since the pandemic started.

Part of the blame for the Jan. 6 attack fell on Yogananda Pittman, the Capitol Police official who managed the agency’s intelligence operations. Some members of Congress called for her to be fired but Manger decided to keep her after she instituted reforms.

The reforms included instituting inspector general recommendations and expanding the Capitol Police intelligence operations.

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