Minneapolis security expert says protection of US Capitol surprisingly weak

Michael Rozin, president of Rozin Security Consultants, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS security at the U.S. Capitol could have been tighter but praised law enforcement for stopping the rioting and securing the building once more agencies arrived.

“In a high-risk situation, in a place like the U.S. Capitol, you apply higher and more security measures, especially with crowds this big,” Rozin said. “The ease with which the events transpired, and the ease with which the protesters gained access to the Capitol, in my opinion, should not have happened.”

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Rozin’s company contracts with the federal government and also works with overseas governments to protect vital installations, buildings and landmarks. He told KSTP he was surprised and saddened by what took place in a building that is one of the most protected sites in the country.

“The U.S. Capitol, and the security teams which protect it, are used to demonstrations and they are well-trained and prepared to handle things like this,” Rozin said. “It is surprising to see that it rose to this level and there usually is layers of fortification with barricades and personnel so that if one line of defense breaks there is another one in place.”

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Rozin said there were some rioters inside the U.S. Capitol who used symbols and had tattoos which seem to be aligned with the antifa movement, which is made up of decentralized groups across the country who promote dismantling the federal government. Rep. Matt Gaetz also suggested that antifa may be involved in his speech on the floor of the House Wednesday night. The speech was based on a Washington Times report that a facial recognition software company, XRVision, had identified antifa members among the rioters at the Capitol. The Washington Times has since retracted that claim, and updated their report to reflect that XRVision did not identify any antifa members.

Editor’s Note – This story was originally broadcast as a report focusing on the initial questions of security measures at the US Capitol. At the end of that story from reporter Jay Kolls, he quoted a recognized security expert, who said that it was “highly likely” that people who aligned with the antifa group may have been part of instigating the violence at the Capitol. For our part, we should not have reported that assertion without more context analyzing the claim.

This was not in keeping with the editorial standards of 5 Eyewitness News, and we will do better going forward.