It’s been more than a week since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but many questions still remain, says WBZ-TV Political Analyst Jon Keller: Why were panic buttons ripped out of Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s office ahead of the riot? Why did it take so long for the National Guard to respond? Why, allegedly, did some members of Congress give tours to protestors?
All of that uncertainty has led to a heightened anxiety in the nation’s capital, Keller told GBH's Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu Friday. He spoke to Mathieu from Washington, D.C.
“Local talk shows are full of fearful voices, people speculating about how vulnerable the city may be not just to a domestic terrorist attack, but to some kind of foreign attack,” he said.
Keller said he can sense uneasiness in D.C. ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration next week, even for a city accustomed to security threats.
“People are on edge here,” Keller said. “This is the most heavily policed city in the country in normal times, and now it’s a total armed camp.”
Watch: Keller on the anxiety felt in the nation's captial
Anxiety is high even among members of Congress, who Keller says are questioning each other’s loyalty.
“How does our government go forward in an environment where you don’t even trust the people sitting next to you? It’s really a mess,” he said.
As more stories emerge in the aftermath of the violence, Keller noted that the attack appears to be even more violent than originally portrayed, and said anyone who participated should be prosecuted.
“I really can’t escape, Joe, the sense that we don’t even yet know the half of the story of what actually went on here, how bad it was, and who was really behind it,” Keller said.
