Still, those charged with keeping the landmark complex safe say the need to keep the Capitol open and accessible to Americans comes with some security trade-offs. Just a few feet from lawmakers, millions of tourists a year squeeze through lines and stand in corners to get a glimpse of democracy in action. There's an inherent vulnerability in the Capitol complex because of the openness we have to maintain,'' police Lt. Dan Nichols said. Russell Eugene Weston Jr. is being held in a federal mental facility, too ill to face trial.
Tourists say they feel safe.
It's kind of a security nightmare with people running around in all different directions in all those tours. The Capitol is just one focal point of a broad and expensive effort by the government to better protect its buildings and workers from attacks like those that struck Oklahoma City in 1995, a military barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996 and U.S. embassies in Africa three years ago. For instance, across the street from where a bomb ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City six years ago, the government will build a successor with special security measures. The building will sit back about 50 feet from the street. The face of the structure will be made of laminated glass designed to stay in its frame in an explosion.