SANTA FE – New Mexico officials are declining to remove protective barriers erected around the state Capitol after the Jan. 6 riot during which supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol while trying to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Republican legislators had requested removal of the chain-link fences with concrete barriers, arguing that no threat was evident and that there shouldn’t be a perception that government leaders are afraid of the state’s residents.
However, the director of the Legislative Council Service, Raul Burciaga, said Wednesday that state police officials agreed with him that the barriers should remain.
Burciaga said the fence will probably stay up until the March 20 end of the legislative session “but at least until we feel the building is safe,” the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
House Minority Leader Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, said he was “disappointed we have to keep the fence up. It’s an eyesore that doesn’t speak well of our trust of New Mexicans.”
The state Capitol is closed to the public because of health restrictions implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic.
