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Law enforcement presence increased in DC after Charlie Kirk shooting
After conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed yesterday at a Utah college event, security has ramped up in DC around the White House and Capitol Building in fear of a similar attack.
WASHINGTON - In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, law enforcement officers have been out in force, stationed at key locations around the White House and Capitol.
Now, some members of Congress are also looking to bolster their own security as political tensions heighten. This only ramps up the questions about protecting the high profile political figures in the nation’s capital.
What we know:
It's been an ongoing concern and the subject of hearings since last summer’s attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last summer and back to the 2021 Capitol riot.
U.S. Capitol police tell FOX 5 they are operating on a "heightened threat environment" they’ve investigated potential threats today, both on at the capitol and the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine told FOX 5 that all 100 senators recently had a security briefing.
"Capitol Police are thinking about this in the aftermath of the shooting of the legislators in Minnesota. We had an all-senators briefing by the Capitol Police and other folks connected with the capitol about our own personal security," Kaine said.
A former Homeland Security official says threats are increasing.
"High profile targets are going to be the subjects of people’s negativity and fervor, whether it be physically in person, physical confrontations or digitally," said Dr. Chris Pierson, a former Department of Homeland Security official and founder of cybersecurity firm BlackCloak.
At the start of the year the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police testified that in one month – they’d seen 700 threats against Congress and 50 cases of fake ‘swatting" calls to lawmakers’ homes.
That led to calls to double the Capitol Police protection division from 250 to 500 officers.
What they're saying:
Still, D.C. residents told FOX 5 that the threat of violence will not stop them from taking part in political events.
"Just having fear stop you is not really a good thing, I’d go. But there’s a chance it could happen? There’s a chance it might not," one resident told FOX 5.
"If we stop going to events, political rallies, churches—they win," said another.
U.S. Capitol Police tell FOX 5 for security reasons, they won’t provide specific details about their increased security posture, but that they are working with federal, state and local partners to carry out their critical mission.