Unimpressive Performance by Capitol Police

During the anti-war protests from the weekend, the Capitol Hill Police, who are tasked with the job of protecting the Capitol and its grounds, apparently surrendered part of their territory to the unwashed masses and allowed them to deface part of the area:

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 andDeputy Chief Daniel Nichols. "They were the commanders on the scene," one source said,who requested anonymity. "It was disgusting." ...

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 … at the end of the day, both occurred without injury to protestors or officers."

Freedom of speech does not include freedom to deface public property, and these guys should have been confronted and stopped. If violence is what they were seeking, violence is what they should have gotten instead of being allowed to drive the police back and spray paint their stupidity on whatever area from which the cops retreated.