Fence surrounding Capitol to return before pro-Trump rally

The fence surrounding the US Capitol will return before a right-wing rally in support of former President Donald Trump takes place on Saturday, authorities said.

"The fence will go up a day or two before, and if everything goes well it will come down very soon after," Xinhua news agency quoted Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger as saying to reporters on Monday.

Saturday's rally, titled "Justice for J6", aims to protest the arrest of hundreds of rioters in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.

Earlier on Monday, Capitol Police officers arrested a 44-year-old man for allegedly possessing a bayonet and a machete outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which sits just south of the Capitol building.


Both items are illegal in Washington.

According to Capitol Police, the man was driving a truck laden with white supremacist slogans, and said he was "on patrol".

The original Capitol security fence was erected in the days following the deadly rampage at the Capitol.


Some 140 police officers were reportedly injured when confronting a mob of Trump supporters who breached the Capitol on January 6 in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results for President Joe Biden.

The Capitol riot, later deemed an insurrection, left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer - IANS