However, be aware that even when accurate security information is most needed, the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) isn’t getting it right. On Sunday, for example, DES sent an alert that fencing on the state Capitol Campus would come down by Tuesday morning.
Tuesday night, the fencing was still up. And DES announced it would stay up through at least Inauguration Day (Jan. 20).
The Sunday alert came many hours after the fencing was installed and was contrary to information provided by the Washington State Patrol.
It also made no mention of the fortress-like conditions that would greet campus visitors on the opening day of the legislative session Monday, including 750 National Guard members and hundreds of State Patrol troopers, some in riot gear.
The Tuesday night alert said the fencing would be in place “due to evolving intelligence on security threats posed in all 50 state capitols following the violence in our nation’s capital, as well as recent illegal and dangerous actions associated with non-permitted events on our state’s Capitol Campus.”
Parking has not been allowed on the campus since mid-summer, and all of its buildings have been closed since March due to pandemic precautions.
The “illegal and dangerous actions,” including three shootings and numerous assaults, have mostly taken place in nearby neighborhoods, whose residents feel DES has ignored their concerns about barricades on the campus forcing protestors into their neighborhood.
