Leaders of the House of Representatives decided to scrap planned votes on Thursday due to reports that QAnon conspiracy theory adherents may attempt to storm the Capitol in a far-fetched scheme to return former President Donald Trump to office, according to a Democratic congressman.
The Capitol complex is ringed with non-scalable, barbed-wire topped 8-foot fences and is still guarded by hundreds of National Guard members following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, during which a mob of Trump supporters smashed into the building and disrupted certification of President Biden’s victory.
But House leaders were fearful enough of another assault to move Thursday votes to Wednesday night, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) told CNN.
“Yeah, that’s correct, that’s correct,” Himes said, confirming the House would not be in session Thursday due to the possible threat.
“Obviously from a security standpoint, it’s better to have us scattering to the four winds as opposed to all concentrating in one building,” Himes said.
But the Democrat, who is a member of the House intelligence committee, said he found it doubtful that anyone would be able to breach the Capitol given the intense security.
“Capitol Hill, and it makes me sad to report this, it is still an armed camp. There are very heavily armed, body-armored national guardsmen all over the place. There are still fences. You can’t get near the Capitol without an ID,” Himes said.
He added: “Unless there is a very well-trained force on their way to Washington, DC, they are going to meet security like they’ve never imagined before.”
The House will vote late into the night on legislation including a police reform bill so that it won’t have to convene on Thursday.
The threat reportedly involves online chatter about a theory that Trump will return to power because March 4 was historically a date for presidential inaugurations, before that was modified to be Jan. 20.
The Jan. 6 Capitol riot occurred after Trump supporters easily pushed over waist-high fencing and approached Congress. Thousands of people who attended a speech by the then-president near the White House descended on Capitol Hill as members of the crowd fought police to enter the building.