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‘This is one of the bleakest days in American history:’ Security expert on Capitol siege

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Jordan Strauss, Kroll Managing Director, discuss the security breach at the Capitol.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: 24 hours after pro-Trump rioters slammed into the Capitol building, we are asking ourselves how did this happen? How are hundreds of people able to breach security at what's supposed to be one of the most secure buildings in the nation?

Here to talk about it now is Jordan Strauss. He is managing director at Kroll. He also has worked extensively with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and also the Emergency Management Agency. Jordan, good to have you here.

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How was that able to happen yesterday? Were the police simply outnumbered by the rioters?

JORDAN STRAUSS: Let me start by saying, especially for your international viewers, this is truly one of the darkest, blackest, bleakest days in American history. This was able to happen because of a failure to plan appropriately something that easily could have been prevented. It's not clear right now why this didn't happen. I'm sure there are going to be any number of inquiries about it.

But it's just absolutely unbelievable. This is a building that is one of the most secure in the planet, especially after the September 11 improvements to it. It is regularly the subject of one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world during National Security Special events like the Presidential Inauguration, like the State of the Union, which happens every year. I know that that interagency planning already has been underway for weeks now to secure for the inauguration. It is just unimaginable that this was able to happen as quickly as it did with the warning signs that it could have happened.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You mentioned the inauguration, which is only 13 days away, Jordan. I know that you were part of the team that worked on President Obama's second inauguration. Talk to us about some of the planning that you think or know is happening right now and how might this inauguration be different from any other we've seen? Of course, it's going to be happening against the backdrop of a pandemic. So that in and of itself will change things.

But how might this inauguration now be different in the wake of what happened yesterday?

That's a great question, Alexis.

JORDAN STRAUSS: First of all, let me say that the groups that work on these national security special events, which are going to be the highest tier of domestic security-- so things like the UN General Assembly, Presidential Inaugurations, State of the Unions number well into the hundreds. They're organized by the Department of Homeland Security and coordinated through the US Secret Service. And everyone chips in-- the Department of Justice, FBI, ATF, DEA, Metro Police department, the National Guard, people from Virginia, people from Maryland, and people from DC.

So there's a lengthy extraordinary planning process that results in a very comprehensive plan, which boils down to usually a 70 or 80 page document that starts with here's what we're going to do and ends with here's what we're going to do if things get really bad. How is this going to change things in a time when most of the inauguration was already going to be virtual because of COVID, what it will likely look like is going to be further out layers of security, additional restrictions on access, more metal detectors. Unfortunately, it will probably mean more of a visible police presence, which is always a pity during such a sacred constitutional ritual. But the plan is going to need to be even more comprehensive.

I mean in the last 24 hours, we've heard from clients all over the world asking whether it's time to update their contingency plans. The answer is, yes. And I will tell you right now that is what the Federal interagency is doing too.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And you also mentioned 9/11 in your first answer. Post 9/11, security in this country changed forever. In the way we get on airplanes changed forever. How might security at the Capitol now be changed forever because of what happened?

JORDAN STRAUSS: So after 9/11, the Capitol complex went through a series of very expensive and extensive upgrades to improve security. That's part of just good sense, but it's also part of the National continuity of government planning. Just like we need to make sure that there's always a president and that the president is always reachable. We need to make sure that there's always a Congress and there's always a Supreme Court.

The structure was hardened physically in a lot of ways that are seen by the public and that aren't seen by the public. I would expect to see some additional hardening of what we would think of as the inner cell. So for example, the fact that the doors were able to be broken open, or couldn't stay closed, that people were able to break windows, those are just some simple security failures that are relatively easy fixes.

But I think the bigger improvement you're likely to see is that the Capitol Police, which despite the coverage they're getting today, is actually a very small but very elite police force, will be much more integrated with the executive branch's police force. The Capitol is a unique structure. It sits on federal land. So it can't really be policed by the DC Metro Police because it's a part of the federal sovereign.

At the same time, the Capitol Police are answerable only to the legislature, just like the Supreme Court Police are answerable only to the Supreme Court. That sets them apart from organizations like the Secret Service, the FBI, ATF, DEA, the US Marshal Service, and the other men and women who work for the government, because they work for the executive branch. So for there to be good security at the Capitol, the Capitol Police need to be able to get help from the executive.

One of the strangest things about the last 24 hours is why there was a delay getting the National Guard on station. My suspicion is that future planning will involve not just an increase in expenditure for the Capitol Police and probably some improved intelligence sharing between them and the executive branch, but the assembly of rapid contingency plans so that in the event something like this happens again-- and hopefully, it'll never happen again. But at least not for the next 200 years-- that Federal assets can surge quickly and carefully and in a planned way.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Quickly, I'd like your thoughts on whether or not you think the Capitol building will still be open to the public for tours. I know that after 9/11, the New York Stock Exchange stopped that practice. We know it's the House of the people. But might we no longer be able to get in and take a tour?

JORDAN STRAUSS: It is the House of the people. The White House was closed for tours for a period of time after September 11. It's now possible to take a tour of the White House. The Capitol will always be available in some way, shape, or form to the people because it is the Peoples Temple. The people do own. Also, I know that the Congress would not stand for their constituency to not be allowed in.

So there may be a period of time where access is restricted, but it will absolutely be open. Again, we can just look back to September 11. The Capitol was briefly closed. And then a new visitor center was installed along with a bunch of other security improvements. So we'll find a way to make it open. But we also need to find a way to close it more safely, more quickly, and more assuredly.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Absolutely. All right, Jordan Strauss at Kroll. Thanks so much for being with us.