I think we can see one way that "regime change" in favor of the cut-and-run Democrats on Capitol Hill has made a difference -- anti-war vandals were allowed to spray-paint the Capitol while police stood by and did nothing.

Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership, two sources told The Hill.

According to the sources, police officers were livid when they were told to fall back by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Phillip Morse and Deputy Chief Daniel Nichols. "They were the commanders on the scene," one source said,who requested anonymity. "It was disgusting."

After police ceded the stairs, located on the lower west front of the Capitol, the building was locked down, the source added.

A second source who witnessed the incident said that the police had the crowd stopped at Third Street, but were told to bring the police line in front of the Capitol.

In other words, standard police procedures were violated in order to permit a mass of protesters within the security perimeter around the Capitol

What is the explanation for this unprofessional conduct that allowed for the desecration of the Capitol?

Approximately 300 protesters were allowed to take the steps and began to spray paint "anarchist symbols" and phrase such as "Our capitol building" and "you canÂ’t stop us" around the area, the source said.

Morse responded to these claims in an e-mail Sunday afternoon,explaining that the protesters were seeking confrontation with the police.

"While there were minor instances of spray painting of pavement by a splinter group of Anarchists who were seeking a confrontation with the police, their attempts to breach into secure areas and rush the doors of the Capitol were thwarted," Morse said. "The graffiti was easily removed by the dedicated [Architect of the Capitol] staff, some of whom responded on their day off to quickly clean the area."

He added, "It is the USCP's duty and responsibility to protect the Capitol complex, staff and public while allowing the public to exercise their First Amendment rights Â… at the end of the day, both occurred without injury to protestors or officers."

Now there is a fundamental problem with this statement -- vandalism of public buildings is NOT a First Amendment right. Neither is breaking a police line, which was the goal of the anti-war hooligans. Lawlessness, not the First Amendment, was allowed to prevail. I'm curious what Morse would have done had this group insisted upon taking their protest further, perhaps into the Capitol proper? This statement makes it sound like he would have again ordered his men to cut-and-run while additional damage was done to the Capitol. After all, orders had been given that no arrests were to be made.

Sounds to me like Chief Phillip Morse and Deputy Chief Daniel Nichols need to be removed from their position immediately -- and steps taken to ensure that such an event never happens again.

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Posted by: Greg at 01:31 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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