WASHINGTON — One of the most senior Democrats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday demanded to know why the Capitol Police did not do more to prevent the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home last week, and questioned what the agency was doing to improve security for members of Congress and their families.
In a lengthy letter that included a litany of concerns about how the Capitol Police manage threats to lawmakers, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the Administration Committee, questioned several of the department’s policies and practices, including an apparent decision to turn down an invitation from the F.B.I. for some of its officers to join terrorism task forces that investigate threats against members of Congress.
“The department has previously reported to the committee that the speaker receives the most threats of any member of Congress,” Ms. Lofgren wrote to Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Capitol Police, asking why his department had not extended “coverage to the spouses and/or other family members of the congressional leaders in the presidential line of succession.”
The five-page letter from Ms. Lofgren, whose panel oversees Capitol security, came a day after reports that a review had flagged several lapses in police protection of the Pelosi household. Capitol Police surveillance cameras captured the break-in, but costly minutes went by before any officer reviewed the footage. A security review also found that the San Francisco police stopped posting a car in front of the Pelosi household 24 hours a day, as the agency had after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Mr. Pelosi was badly injured in the assault, suffering a fractured skull. A 42-year-old man, David DePape, has been charged with attempting to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and assaulting a relative of a federal official. Mr. DePape, who had embraced far-right conspiracy theories, told investigators that he wished to break Ms. Pelosi’s kneecaps and see her “wheeled into Congress” as a lesson to other members.
Law enforcement leaders on Capitol Hill said Tuesday they planned to strengthen protections for members of Congress, after the attack highlighted a turbulent threat environment that endangers not only lawmakers, but also their families.
“We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for members of Congress,” Chief Manger said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he could not disclose the security upgrades he was planning to implement. “This plan would include an emphasis on adding redundancies to the measures that are already in place for congressional leadership.”
