Calling Wednesday’s riots at the Capitol building “textbook terrorism,” Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser warned that she may need to take “extraordinary measures” in order to maintain public safety in the coming weeks.
During a press conference with the mayor and D.C. Metro Police Chief Robert Contee, officials confirmed that 68 people involved in Capitol riots were arrested on Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
Officials also identified the four people who died during Wednesday’s riot, including Ashli Babbit, who suffered a gunshot wound.
The other three people who died suffered “medical emergencies,” and while it’s unclear if they were participating in rioting at the time of their death, Contee confirmed that those who died were “on Capitol grounds” when they suffered medical issues.
Bowser, who has already extended a public emergency for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term, warned that she may need to impose curfews in coming weeks in order to keep the community safe.
“What was saw was not only an affront to our democracy but our values as a city," Bowser said.
Bowser added that seven-foot non-scalable fencing will be erected around the Capitol building for at least 30 days. More than 6,000 National Guardsmen from D.C. and surrounding states will be deployed to the city by the weekend.
Finally, Bowser called for Congress to pass a bill to grant the District of Columbia statehood status within the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency, adding that D.C. Metro Police were protecting a building at which officers had no federal representation.