Congressman Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) recovered and returned to the Capitol after he was shot during the annual Congressional baseball game held on June 14, 2017. Undeterred, the competitive conservatives and athletics of the GOP will take another swing, especially after safety assurances made possible from increased security budgets. In her pitch to alleviate potential security threats and safety concerns while also allaying congressional jitters, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki wrote in a press release: “We will have a robust presence at practices and at the game.” She’s not referring to cheerleaders or popcorn vendors either.
Thankful to the lawmakers who ordinarily grant them the compensatory, operational benefits, the U.S. Capitol Police now have a financed game-plan managed from the baselines as well as other arterial angles. Without delay, it may be raining cops.
Last year’s mass shooting at Simpson Park in Alexandria, Virginia was likened to “sitting ducks” being plunked by a lone gunman armed with a long rifle and ample ammo…fueled by contempt for Trump and Republicans. Seared into heads and imprinted upon the psyches, quite a number of U.S. lawmakers saw the clumped Rep. Scalise whose bullet-pierced figure pitched for help from the nearby mound. Downed target, indeed. Yet, courageous actions from both law enforcement and lawmakers alike snaked their way to his aid.
“The field was basically a killing field. Had the Capitol Police not been there, [the assailant] would have walked around the field shooting everyone,” said Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) after last year’s shooting. Things will be noticeably different this year.
Besides curtailing onlookers and the media to more distant positions and prohibiting up-close handshakes with lawmakers, the federal government has pumped plenty of security-related funds into the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) coffers. A few weeks after last year’s on-field shooting, each lawmaker was granted $25,000 to secure their homes and offices better, as well as venues where speaking engagements were held, fearing a copycat will show up and employ a scenario much like the one in which Rep. Scalise and three others were shot.
The MRA dole was fattened in March 2018: $11 million was infused solely for legislators’ security aspects, and much of the allocations is considered top secret, so details are not available publicly. Publicizing such data could compel a copycat to target venues where funds are nominal or nonexistent, meaning little to no security. But last year’s melee was no fluke. Per Rollcall.com, traditionally, “the only security presence at the lawmakers’ early morning practices consisted of leadership members’ Capitol Police security details. If no party leaders showed up, that meant no armed protection for the rest of the team during practice.” Despite a contentious political climate and divided society, one could exclaim we’ve been rather fortunate historically.
Subsequent to the June 2017 spray of bullets at Simpson Park where Republican representatives batted, ran, pitched, and dove, Rep. Scalise’s office staff issued a written statement commending law enforcement officers’ response: “Prior to entering surgery, the Whip was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone. He is grateful for the brave actions of U.S. Capitol Police, first responders, and colleagues.”
At that time, the security detail consisted of few police personnel from the U.S. Capitol Police, both of whom took swift action and eliminated the threat by gunfire. Primarily, U.S. Capitol Police Special Agents Crystal Griner and David Bailey “raced through bullets” to salvage lives. President Trump uttered that distinction. Officers with the Alexandria police force soon arrived to provide support and are also heroes.
President Trump and many others on the Hill honored Agents Griner and Bailey who, during the horrific diamond in the rough, were injured via the exchange of gunfire with Trump-hating active shooter James T. Hodgkinson. The suspect died at the Simpson Park scene.
https://youtu.be/8-5A6yNhuhA
According to Right.Is describing the shooter’s pedigree, “Hodgkinson was a member of anti-Republican and anti-Trump groups, according to the newspaper in his hometown, The Bellevue News-Democrat. He belonged to multiple anti-GOP Facebook groups, including ones called ‘The Road to Hell is Paved with Republicans,’ ‘Donald Trump is not my President,’ ‘Illinois Berners United to Resist Trump,’ ‘Boycott the Republican Party,’ ‘Expose Republican Fraud’ and ‘Terminate the Republican Party.” If it were not for the Capitol police on scene, he may have succeeded in the latter group’s stated purpose.
What would a baseball game be without a team to play against? During their own baseball practice elsewhere, after hearing the GOP Whip was shot while fielding at Simpson Park, the House Democrats’ team bowed in a moment of solidarity and, well, bipartisan sportsmanship.
But the US Congress is not going to relive that horrific event, at least not if beefing-up police presence can thwart a replay. Calling it a “robust” contingent of cops for the 2018-season practices and official game, lawmakers went to bat with a pen and federal checkbook.
Congress inflated the fiscal year 2018 operating budget for the Capitol Police to $426.5 million—a $33.2 million increase over the previous fiscal year. In particular, Capitol cops will spend $7.5 million to strengthen its Threat Assessment unit as well as to hone technology so as to protect members for efficaciously. Not a bad chunk of change from a baseball gig gone awry at the hands of one Republican-hating hellion.
“It is unfortunate that the current political climate in America has created the need for enhanced security. As someone who was on the baseball field that day and shot at several times, I completely understand the need for security at events where members of Congress congregate,” said Georgia Republican Congressman Barry Loudermilk.
He added, “Had it not been for the Capitol Police at that practice last year, it would certainly have been much worse.” GOP baseball practice is scheduled for April 25, 2018 and is publicly advertised. To some extent, so is the beefed-up police cadre…some of whom will not be donning any team uniform or particular color scheme. That also goes for the official game scheduled for June 14 at Nationals Park. Relief will not only be relegated to the bullpen.
