WASHINGTON – In an effort to prevent another riot like the one on Jan. 6, 2021, the Homeland Security secretary has designated the congressional count and certification of the presidential election as a national special security event overseen by the Secret Service.
Both political parties’ national conventions, the presidential inauguration and the U.N. General Assembly already have this designation, but it's the first time the Jan. 6 vote count and certification have received it.
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The Secret Service said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the designation following a request from the mayor of Washington, D.C. The move means these are particularly high-profile events that might be targets for terrorists or criminals.
The Secret Service is in charge of running security for such events in a planning process that kicks off many months in advance. A steering committee for the Jan. 6 certification has been formed and will begin meeting in the coming weeks, the Secret Service said.
The goal is to improve planning and coordination, especially when it comes to pulling in resources across the federal government.
“National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said in a statement. The agency and its partners “are committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants," he said.
Rioters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election descended on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. They scaled walls, shattered windows, beat police and hunted down lawmakers in the halls of Congress. About 140 police officers were injured that day. One officer collapsed and died. Four others later died by suicide. A Trump supporter seeking to climb through a broken window was shot and killed by authorities.
In the aftermath of the riot, 1,500 criminal cases have been brought to court with more than 900 people pleading guilty and roughly 200 convicted.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that House Democrats are “committed to protecting the democracy, we’re committed to free and fair elections and we’re committed to the peaceful transfer of power that will begin on Jan. 6.”
Asked if the special security designation was needed, he said that given what happened in 2021, “and the refusal by many extreme MAGA Republicans to stop something like that from ever happening again ... this designation by national security professionals seems to have been necessary.”
It's a high-profile job for an agency struggling to defend its reputation in the wake of the assassination attempt against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service has been criticized for failing to secure the building that Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed on top of and opened fire as Trump spoke. A bullet nicked Trump on the ear. The agency's director, Kim Cheatle, resigned after a heated congressional hearing, and the agency's decisions and planning are the subject of multiple investigations.
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AP Writer Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting.