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Security fencing removed from Washington Capitol campus

Published 10:39 am Tuesday, May 4, 2021

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2021 file photo, members of the Washington National Guard stand near a fence surrounding the Capitol in anticipation of protests on the first day of the 2021 legislative session in Olympia, Wash. The 2021 session of the Washington Legislature ended Sunday, April 25 and lawmakers had no shortage of weighty topics to consider while having to conduct their work amid a pandemic that meant most meetings and votes were conducted remotely. The Capitol building was also closed to the public since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was surrounded by security fencing and national guard members at times due to fears of protests. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2021 file photo, members of the Washington National Guard stand near a fence surrounding the Capitol in anticipation of protests on the first day of the 2021 legislative session in Olympia, Wash. The 2021 session of the Washington Legislature ended Sunday, April 25 and lawmakers had no shortage of weighty topics to consider while having to conduct their work amid a pandemic that meant most meetings and votes were conducted remotely. The Capitol building was also closed to the public since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was surrounded by security fencing and national guard members at times due to fears of protests. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
In this Jan. 11 photo, members of the Washington National Guard stand near a fence surrounding the Capitol in anticipation of protests on the first day of the 2021 legislative session in Olympia. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Associated Press

OLYMPIA — The security fencing around buildings on Washington state’s Capitol campus was removed Tuesday, four months after the barriers went up during national unrest tied to the presidential election.

The Olympian reports enhanced security measures have been in place since January. A crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the gates to the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia on Jan. 6, the same day a pro-Trump mob stormed the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Jan. 8 he had activated the Washington State National Guard to be in Olympia with State Patrol and local law enforcement ahead of the first day of the state’s 2021 legislative session Jan. 11. Groups had announced, then publicly canceled protest plans that included entering the Legislative Building, which has been closed to the public due to COVID-19 precautions.

Calls to remove the fence from Republican state lawmakers were unheeded during the 105-day legislative session that ended April 25. Democratic leaders in the legislature said they defer to security experts on that call, such as State Patrol. In mid-March, the restricted area reopened to pedestrian access from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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