While Congress was in recess for the Easter holiday, text messages sent to staffers still working inside told them no one could enter or leave the building. National Guard troops were mobilized Friday and staff at the huge Capitol complex ordered to stay away from windows and seek cover after alerts went out over the incident shortly after 1:00 pm (1700 GMT). The attack came with the scars still raw and security tight after the January assault on Congress by hundreds of supporters of then-President Donald Trump. "We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it," he said. "Members of Congress, staff and Capitol workers, and indeed all Americans, are united in appreciation for the courage of the US Capitol Police," she said.īiden also ordered White House flags to be flown at half-staff. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags lowered to half-staff on the Capitol, calling Evans "a martyr for our democracy." "Please keep Officer Evans and his family in your thoughts and prayers," Pittman said in a statement. Top officials expressed shock over the attack and sympathy for Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force. He was also said he was a follower of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who promotes Black nationalist, anti-white and anti-Semitic thinking. In one post he spoke of being tormented by the FBI and CIA, hospitalized and subjected to "mind control," and called the government "the #1 enemy of Black people!" He wrote that he had faced "unimaginable tests" and was now "in search of a spiritual journey." He said he was unemployed and had health problems, and made references to biblical concepts of the end of times. Some of Green's online postings in March suggested a level of despair and paranoia. "It does not appear to be terrorism-related, but obviously we will continue to investigate," Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee added. Pittman said there was no immediate indication of his motivation or police file on him. US media said officials had identified the attacker as Noah Green, a 25-year-old Black man from Indiana and an adherent of the black nationalist Nation of Islam movement. "Jill and I were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack at a security checkpoint on the US Capitol grounds," Biden said in a statement.
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