- “Any time of the day, 24/7, the Capitol could be attacked, and it could be domestic, it could be foreign,” said Honoré.
- Honoré led a task force to review the U.S. Capitol security in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, and urged Congress to revamp its security forces by adding 854 more officers and a rapid response unit.
Retired Lt Gen Russel Honoré warned that the U.S. Capitol "is a target 24/7," hours after an attack on Capitol Police left one officer dead and another hurt after a man hit them with his car at a checkpoint near Constitution Avenue.
"Any time of the day, 24/7, the Capitol could be attacked, and it could be domestic, it could be foreign," said Honoré to CNBC's "The News with Shepard Smith."
Honoré led a task force to review the U.S. Capitol security in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, and urged Congress to revamp its security forces by adding 854 more officers and a rapid response unit. He told host Shepard Smith that the National Guard troops, who are scheduled to be in position at the Capitol until the middle of April, should have their deployment extended until Congress takes action on his recommendation.
"I think they should be extended as long as the Police Board and the Commander of the Capitol Police think they need it," Honoré said. "After 9/11, we left 250 National Guardsmen at the Capitol for two years. Never an argument. Nobody argued that point because the Capitol was known to be a target."
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said that at around 1pm Friday, a man rammed his car into two officers before crashing into a security barricade. Police say the man then hopped out of the war wielding a knife. Officers gave him orders to stop, and they say he didn't respond. Instead, police say he "lunged aggressively" towards the officers. That's when they opened fire and shot the suspect. Medics took him to a hospital where he later died.
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Dozens of National Guard troops responded to the Capitol complex, which was locked down for about two hours following the attack. Congress is in a spring recess, so lawmakers were not working in the building.
Honoré explained that Pittman and her team are going to be dealing with the emotional toll of Friday's attack while still having to secure the Capitol tonight and round-the-clock every day. He underscored that Capitol Police deserve the "respect" of Congress acting and fortifying their forces.
"That's the respect we've got to give to the Capitol Police by getting the Congress to immediately approve the supplemental that the House has proposed of almost $2 billion to give the Capitol Police additional personnel and equipment and technology they need to complete the hardening of the Capitol," Honoré said.
