WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that heightened security measures are being taken at federal buildings in Washington and nationwide, citing the recent shooting at the Canadian Parliament and threats from terrorist groups to attack the United States.
DHS officials emphasized that the step was a precaution and not based on any intelligence about a specific terrorist plot. Rather, they said, the shootings in Canada and other events, such as the ongoing U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, compelled the move. The measures started over the weekend but were not announced until Tuesday because of their sensitivity, officials said.
“This is a precautionary step to safeguard U.S. government personnel and facilities, and the visitors to those facilities,” said a senior DHS official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations. The changes are “not based on any specific, credible information at this time indicating any active plot against government officials and law enforcement in the United States.”
In announcing the security alert, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said: “The reasons for this action are self-evident: the continued public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on the homeland and elsewhere, including against law enforcement and other government officials, and the acts of violence targeted at government personnel and installations in Canada and elsewhere recently.
“Given world events,” Johnson added, “prudence dictates a heightened vigilance in the protection of U.S. government installations and our personnel.” He urged law enforcement officials to be especially vigilant for attacks on federal buildings by homegrown terrorists or “lone wolves.”
Johnson and other officials would not detail the new security measures or which government facilities will be affected, other than saying they will be buildings in Washington and other major cities and locations around the country. “The precise actions we are taking and the precise locations at which we will enhance security is law-enforcement sensitive, will vary and shift from location to location, and will be continually reevaluated,” Johnson said.
The procedures will be carried out by the Federal Protective Service, which guards more than 9,500 federal facilities that have 1.4 million visitors or occupants pass through them daily. Security procedures in federal facilities have been an issue for years, and a long series of reports by the Government Accountability Office have faulted the Federal Protective Service for inadequate training, poor planning and other problems.
The DHS actions followed last week’s shocking violence in Canada. In the capital, Ottawa, a gunman killed an honor guard and then opened fire inside the nearby Parliament building. The gunfire set off a chaotic scene at the core of Canada’s government in a country that rarely sees gun violence. President Barack Obama condemned the attack, saying, “Obviously, we’re all shaken by it.”
