Razor wire steel fences around the US Capitol complex removed

Razor wire steel fences and road blocks around the US Capitol complex have finally been removed more than two months after the deadly riots – but an inner layer of barricades will still remain around the building for now. 

The imposing 7-foot fence line that has cut off the entire area to pedestrians and traffic since the January 6 riots has now been heavily scaled back. 

Photos taken this week show just how drastically the area has changed since the fencing was erected and tens of thousands of National Guardsmen were brought in to patrol the area. 

Pedestrians are now able to access the area and vehicles can now drive on roads that have been shut for two months. 

Capitol police confirmed on Wednesday that the fencing on the outer perimeter of the complex has been taken down and local streets in the vicinity have reopened. 

The imposing 7-foot fence line around the US Capitol complex that has cut off the entire area to pedestrians and traffic since the January 6 riots has now been heavily scaled back. An outer perimeter surrounding the Capitol compex has now been removed, which has allowed pedestrians to get closer to the building

The inner perimeter of fencing, which is directly around the Capitol building, will stay up while authorities and lawmakers continue to try and has out a long-term plan for security. 

Strings of razor wire atop the remaining fence has now also been removed. 

As part of the scaling back, Independence and Constitution avenues, the two major thoroughfares that flank the Capitol, have reopened opened for traffic for the first time in months. 

The fencing had cost roughly $1.2 million a week to remain up.

The political pressure to remove the security fencing has been building for several weeks now. 

Security officials faced strong bipartisan push back given the imposing fencing was allowed to remain up for so long after the riots and inauguration. 

Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, had compared it to a combat zone in Afghanistan, saying ‘we are way overreacting’. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, had called it ‘ghastly.’  

Steel fences and National Guardsmen along the outer perimeter of the Capitol complex are now longer in place but several road blocks, which were already in place, are still there. Pedestrians can now access the area for the first time in months

Security fences that were erected around the National Wall and Washington Monument in the days either side of the inauguration have now also been removed

Constitution Avenue (pictured above), which is the major thoroughfare that flanks the Capitol, has now reopened. Road blocks and razor wire fence that had lined the perimeter have now been taken down

Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert repeatedly slammed the security and branded it ‘Fort Pelosi’. 

The heightened security measures had been in place since the January 6 riots when crowds of MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn Biden’s election win. 

Five people died after the rioters, many who have since been charged, stormed the building. 

As many as 20,000 National Guardsmen were brought in to patrol the fence perimeters throughout Washington DC in the aftermath of the riots and the days either side of Biden’s inauguration. 

At least 5,000 National Guard troops remained in DC the weeks to follow and Capitol Police last week asked to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 troops for an additional two months. 

The National Guardsmen on duty at the Capitol has cost more than $500 million since the riots. 

Business owners and residents in the immediate vicinity of the Capitol hailed the decision to remove the fences. 

Some restaurants inside the perimeter haven’t been able to open since they were blocked off on January 6.

Roads blocks along this stretch outside the Capitol complex have now been removed but an inner perimeter fence surrounding the building remains in place