To the editor:

What a hideous sight to see thugs storming our Capitol Building last week. In an open society that governs itself under the rules of law and order, order was not on display that day.

I used to work in that building, the U.S. Capitol. For most of the 33 years I spent on the staff of the House of Representatives (virtually all with the Committee on Appropriations), I was honored to have staff offices and utilize hearing rooms there. Our Capitol Police were our protectors and became a highly professional organization during that time (before that, they were staffed with personnel with political connections and their training was pell-mell). But in the ’70s they firmed up, and are now trained at the same venues as the Secret Service and National Park Police. We trusted their competence and professionalism. But, for some reason, they didn’t seem well prepared for last week’s insurrection and that was a surprise.

When I saw TV pictures of the insurrectionists this past week, I realized they were storming the wall on the West Front that is just in front of my former office in H-132. Those videos were focused on my windows onto the West Lawn. They also were the same windows I looked out to see the Pentagon in flames on 9/11/01. And then we learned another commandeered plane was on its way to the Capitol Building. What an eerie reminder!

Ed Lombard

Fort Myers Beach