Authorities installed a tall perimeter fence around the Capitol and for months restricted traffic along the roads closest to the building, but they had begun pulling back some of the emergency measures. 6 riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was among a badly outnumbered force trying to fight off the intruders seeking to overturn the election. The Washington region remains on edge nearly three months after a mob of insurrectionists loyal to former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Biden’s presidential win.įive people died in the Jan. I am currently now unemployed after I left my job partly due to afflictions, but ultimately, in search of a spiritual journey.” “I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. “To be honest these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher,” he wrote. The messages were captured by the group SITE, which tracks online activity. Green described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its founder, Louis Farrakhan, and spoke of going through a difficult time where he leaned on his faith, according to recent messages posted online that have since been taken down. But the attack underscored that the building and campus – and the officers charged with protecting them – remain potential targets for violence. Pittman said the suspect did not appear to have been on the police’s radar. They were also working to obtain warrants to access his online accounts.

Investigators were digging into his background and examining whether he had any mental health history as they tried to discern a motive. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 25-year-old Noah Green. There was also no immediate connection apparent between Friday’s crash and the Jan. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.Īuthorities said there wasn’t an ongoing threat, though the Capitol was put on lockdown for a time as a precaution. Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that investigators initially believed the suspect stabbed one of the officers, but it was later unclear whether the knife actually made contact, in part because the vehicle struck the officers with such force. Police identified the slain officer as William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran who was a member of the department’s first responders unit.

Capitol lockdown now