As the Vermont Legislature gaveled into the second half of its biennium this week, some people were taken aback by the additional security measures at the “People’s House.” Veteran members of the Legislature say while it’s normal to occasionally have additional security, they are working to further augment security procedures.
Most of the time people can freely enter Vermont’s State House in Montpelier, often referred to as the People’s House. But as the session began this week some entryways were closed, bags were checked and people had to pass through a metal detector.
During his opening comments, Senate Pro-Tem Phil Baruth, a Democrat/Progressive, advised fellow senators about the enhanced security.
“When you came in today, you came in through a single point of entry. I am delighted with that change. We need to go there full time at some point. But this particular session you will see that on-and-off. You also saw an x-ray machine and you saw uniformed officers handling that arrangement. I think that is all to the good. Our sergeant-at-arms and our Capitol Police have been working to beef up security. You will see other indications of it as we go forward.”
Capitol and State Police do implement increased security during special events at the statehouse, such as the opening of the session and speeches by the governor. But House Speaker Democrat Jill Krowinski says the added measures seen this week are part of an effort to increase safety when a lot of additional people are expected in the building.
“We had a single point of entry. That is one strategy that we’ll use moving forward, to do more single-entry days. Our Capitol Police force is fully staffed. You know, we just talked about the anniversary of January 6th, which was a horrific day in our nation’s capital. And threats that we see in other statehouses and threats that we see here, it’s important for us to make sure that members and the public feel safe here.”
The additional measures came at a time when Americans say political violence is on the rise. Pew Research published in October found 85% of U.S. adults said politically motivated violence is increasing – with Republicans and Democrats expressing nearly identical levels of concern.
House Republican Minority Leader Pattie McCoy says the additional security was not disruptive to Legislative business and is something she expected.
“We historically have additional security when the governor is going to give a speech. So I think the first day they’ve just had additional security just to kind of gear up for the session. And then on Wednesday, the second day of session, the governor was going to give his state-of-the-state speech. So that’s normal that we would have additional security throughout the building. We have Capitol Police here always in the building.”
The statehouse returned to regular security procedures on Thursday, with most entryways open and the metal detector removed.
