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The Latest: Capitol Police say threats to Congress up 93%

The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police says there has been a more than 93% increase in the number of threats received by members of Congress in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 03 March 2021 11:04 EST
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Capitol Breach Legal Defense (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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The Latest on congressional testimony about the Capitol insurrection (all times local):

11 a.m.

The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police says there has been a more than 93% increase in the number of threats received by members of Congress in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year.

Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman testified Wednesday before a House subcommittee. Pittman says there has also been more than a 118% increase in total threats from 2017 to 2020. Pittman says the majority of the suspects behind those threats lived outside Washington D.C.

Pittman’s testimony comes nearly two months after thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of the violence.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS' TESTIMONY ON THE CAPITOL INSURRECTION:

National security officials testify in the second Senate hearing about what went wrong on the day of the Capitol insurrection, facing questions about missed intelligence and botched efforts to quickly gather National Guard troops.

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