Capitol Officer Killed Weeks After Mitch McConnell Insisted Extra Capitol Security Was Unnecessary

On Friday afternoon, Capitol police officer William Evans was killed after being rammed by a vehicle at the northern entrance to the complex. Another officer was injured, and the suspect was also shot and killed. At a news conference with reporters, Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the Capitol police, said the attacker “exited the vehicle with a knife in hand” and began “lunging” at the officers. “It is with a very, very heavy heart that I announce one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries,” Pittman said. “I just ask that the public keep the U.S. Capitol police and their families in your prayers.” The attack comes nearly three months after the violent insurrection that left five people dead, and weeks after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted there was no reason for enhanced security around the Capitol building.

Speaking to reporters last month, McConnell claimed that extra security was totally unnecessary. “I think we’ve overdone it,” he said, declaring that “there are no serious threats against the Capitol.” He added: “We‘re way overreacting to the current need. I’m extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents can’t come to the Capitol. With all this razor wire around the complex, it reminds me of my last visit to Kabul. This is the capital of the United States of America. Do we need some changes? We probably do. But I think we are continuing to overreact based on current threat levels to what is needed here at the Capitol. It looks terrible to have the beacon of our democracy surrounded by razor wire and National Guard troops.”

McConnell wasn’t the only one who complained that extra security was not needed. Last month Rep. Lauren Boebert posted a video in which she walked alongside the fencing surrounding the Capitol and demanded that Nancy Pelosi “tear down this wall.” The clip ended with a gunshot and Boebert’s signature, just in case it wasn’t clear that the Colorado congresswoman is an unhinged gun nut.

With Congress currently in recess, most lawmakers were not on Capitol Hill on Friday, though, according to The New York Times, many aides were in the building working or receiving coronavirus vaccines. The Capitol went into lockdown at approximately 1 p.m., with police telling staff to stay inside, away from windows and doors, and to “seek cover” if they were outside. The attack came more than a week after a razor-wire-topped fence that had been placed around the complex was removed, and streets surrounding the Capitol were reopened to vehicle traffic.

In a statement, McConnell said he was “praying for the United States Capitol Police officers who were attacked at the Capitol” and was “grateful to all the USCP and first responders who are on the scene.” Which rings just a bit hollow in light of his insistence that there were “no serious threats against the Capitol,” not to mention his decision to let Donald Trump get away with inciting January’s attack on the Capitol, which left another Capitol police officer dead and around 140 D.C. and Capitol police officers injured.

Matt Gaetz’s spokesman has heard enough

The longtime staffer abruptly resigned, for reasons you can probably understand. Per The New York Times:

Luke Ball, a longtime aide to Mr. Gaetz who was serving as his communications director, had as recently as this week been helping Mr. Gaetz mount a defense against the newly disclosed Justice Department investigation. Mr. Ball had weighed the impact leaving would have on Mr. Gaetz but ultimately decided it was best to do so under the circumstances, according to a person familiar with his decision, who asked for anonymity to describe it.

Mr. Ball had worked with Mr. Gaetz, a third-term congressman representing the Florida Panhandle, since he first began serving in the House in 2017, earning a reputation as one of Mr. Gaetz’s closest aides. Starting as a part-time staff member in the congressman’s Pensacola office, Mr. Ball later became Mr. Gaetz’s deputy campaign manager in 2018 and then his press secretary and communications director in Washington.

“The Office of Congressman Matt Gaetz and Luke Ball have agreed that it would be best to part ways,” Gaetz’s chief of staff said Friday. “We thank him for his time in our office, and we wish him the best moving forward.”

But wait, there’s more

Earlier in his career, Gaetz reportedly created a “game” in which he and fellow young lawmakers scored points for having sex with female colleagues, per ABC News:

Prior to joining Congress, Gaetz was a member of the Florida House of Representatives when his father was also a member of the Florida Senate. Sources told ABC News the two were often referred to as “Daddy Gaetz and Baby Gaetz.” Sources said some women referred to him as “Creepy Gaetz” because they allegedly found themselves made uncomfortable by the junior lawmaker.

Sources said Gaetz was part of a group of young male lawmakers who created a “game” to score their female sexual conquests, which granted “points” for various targets such as interns, staffers or other female colleagues in the state House. One of the targets of the scoring system was a group the lawmakers had heard were “virgins,” according to a source…Gaetz’s office did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

According to ABC News, Gaetz was “often spotted trying to pick up young women at 101 Restaurant, a once-popular watering hole in Tallahassee for some lawmakers and students from nearby Florida State University.” Obviously, trying to pick up women is not a crime though paying them for sex sure is. 

Elsewhere!

Biden Says With Infrastructure Bill U.S. May Add 19 Million Jobs (Bloomberg)

Senior officer rejects Chauvin’s “totally unnecessary” use of force against George Floyd (The Washington Post)

Dozens of American corporations paid no federal income taxes last year: report (NYP)

MLB moving All-Star Game from Georgia after state passes new restrictive voting laws (CNN)

Biden warns progress can still be reversed on heels of major jobs report and vaccination speed-up (CNBC)

Don’t Get NFTs? Don’t Worry, Neither Do Most Americans (Bloomberg)

Screeching noise from luxury condo torments Brooklyn neighborhood (UPI)

Australian Olympian and his brother found guilty in $152 million cocaine plot (CNN)

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