Nobody, it seems, wants to keep the security fence around the U.S. Capitol anymore — except the police who fought off the horrific attack on Jan. 6. Lawmakers call the razor-topped fencing “ghastly,” too militarized and, with the armed National Guard troops still stationed at the Capitol since a pro-Trump mob laid siege, not at all representative of the world’s leading icon of democracy.

Stay or go? Fence, Guard pose Capitol security questions. WASHINGTON (AP) — Nobody, it seems, wants to keep the security fence around the U.S. Capitol anymore — except the police who fought off the horrific attack on Jan. 6. Lawmakers call the razor-topped fencing “ghastly,” too militarized and, with the armed National Guard troops still stationed at the Capitol since a pro-Trump mob laid siege, not at all representative of the world’s leading icon of democracy. (1 of 2) National Guard open a gate in the razor wire topped perimeter fence around the Capitol allow another member in at sunrise in Washington, Monday, March 8, 2021. (2 of 2) The Capitol is seen through razor wire at sunrise in Washington, Friday, March 5, 2021. March 13, 2021 “All you have to do is to see the fencing around the Capitol to be shocked,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said in an interview Friday. How to protect lawmakers, while keeping the bucolic Capitol grounds open to visitors has emerged as one of the more daunting, wrenching questions from deadly riot. Not since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has security been so elevated, and the next steps so uncertain, for the Capitol complex. Five people died after the mob stormed the building trying to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election over Republican Donald Trump. The former president was impeached by the House for inciting the insurrection, and acquitted by the Senate. The U.S. Capitol Police has asked for the fencing and the National Guard to remain, for now. Police officers are working grueling round-the-clock overtime shifts after being overrun that day, engaging at times in hand-to-hand combat with rioters outfitted in combat gear and armed with bats, poles and other weaponry. One woman was shot and killed by police and an officer died later, among scores of police injured in what officials have said appeared to be a planned and coordinated assault. With warnings of another attack in early March by pro-Trump militants and threats on lawmakers that have nearly doubled since the start of 2021, the police, the Pentagon and lawmakers themselves are wrestling with how best to secure what has been a sprawling campus mostly open to visiting tourists and neighborhood dog walkers alike. "The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th forever changed how we look at the 'People’s House,'” acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said in written testimony before Congress in February. She said that even before the 9/11 attacks, security experts, including former chiefs of police, argued that more needed to be done to protect the Capitol complex. "The Capitol’s security infrastructure must change,” Pittman testified. While some lawmakers say privately they appreciate the heightened security, taking down the protective perimeter and easing the National Guard’s presence is the one issue that appears to be uniting both Democrats and Republicans in the toxic political environment on Capitol Hill since the deadly riot. One option that has emerged is for a mobile, retractable barrier that could be put up as needed. “What we have now, that’s just unacceptable to me,” Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic majority whip, told reporters. “It’s just ghastly, it’s an embarrassment. If there’s a better way to protect us, I want to see it. I want to work to get it.” Lawmakers described their unease at arriving for work each day in what can feel like a war zone. The absence of tourists snapping photos of the Capitol dome or constituents meeting with representatives is an emotional loss on top of COVID-19 restrictions, they said. The security perimeter extends far beyond the Capitol itself through neighboring parks and office buildings. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, compared it to a combat zone in Afghanistan. "I think we are way overreacting," he said at a press conference. As of Friday there were about 4,300 Guard troops in the city. This week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formally approved the Capitol Police request to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 Guard members for about two more months. The pushback from Capitol Hill was immediate and bipartisan. Top Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services, Homeland Security, Intelligence and other committees downplayed the potential threats to the Capitol, especially weighed against the drain on National Guard troops serving far from their homes. "Our National Guard troops, who serve with great honor and distinction, are not law enforcement officers, and we will not abide the continued militarization of Capitol complex security,” wrote Sens. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and others. "We are deeply troubled by the current level of security around the United States Capitol,” wrote the House Armed Services Committee's Democratic Chairman Adam Smith of Washington and Rep, Mike Rogers of Alabama, the top Republican in a joint statement. They said while there is no doubt “some level” of support from the National Guard should remain in the region to respond to threats, "the present security posture is not warranted at this time.” Still, other lawmakers say privately they are comfortable keeping security high, for now, as the country tries to ease back to a sense of normalcy after the devastating attack on the seat of government. A sweeping security review conducted in the aftermath of the riot by a task force led by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré recommended eventually replacing the barrier with mobile fencing and “an integrated, retractable fencing system” that could be deployed as needed. Coupled with the hiring of 350 additional officers, the report also recommends establishing a permanent “quick response force” within the Capitol Police but also at the National Guard in D.C. for emergencies. There was a marked delay in sending the Guard to the Capitol on Jan. 6. A supplemental spending request for security is expected to be considered by Congress in April.----------------------- Rioters acted on Trump's 'orders,' Democrats say in trial. WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats prosecuting Donald Trump's impeachment said Thursday the Capitol invaders believed they were acting on "the president's orders” and reflected his violent rhetoric when they set out to storm the building and stop the joint session of Congress that was certifying Democrat Joe Biden's election. (1 of 8) In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Senate Television via AP) (2 of 8) Bruce Castor, lawyer for former President Donald Trump, arrives on the third day of the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate, at the Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP) (3 of 8) In this image from video, security video is shown to senators as House impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (Senate Television via AP) (4 of 8) In this image from video, a quote from news media reporting is displayed for senators as House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Senate Television via AP) (5 of 8) In this image from video, a video from Donald Trump is shown to senators as House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (Senate Television via AP) (6 of 8) Ed Trump's supporters chanting "Fight for Trump!" after they stormed into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was used by prosecutors as they sought to connect the mob with Trump and make the case that the president had incited them to insurrection. (Senate Television via AP) (7 of 8) Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, right, walk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, before the start of the third day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. (8 of 8) Michael van der Veen, lawyer for former President Donald Trump, removes his coat as he arrives on the third day of the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate, at the Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP) February 11, 2021 The prosecutors were wrapping up their opening presentation, describing in stark, personal terms the horror they faced that day and unearthing the many public and explicit instructions Trump gave his supporters — both in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack and at his midday rally that unleashed the mob on the Capitol. Videos of rioters, some posted to social medial by themselves, talked about how they were doing it all for Trump. “We were invited here,” said one. "Trump sent us,” said another. “He’ll be happy. We’re fighting for Trump.” Five people died. “They truly believed that the whole intrusion was at the president’s orders,” said Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. “The president told them to be there.” Trump’s lawyers will launch their defense on Friday, and the trial could wrap by weekend. At the White House, President Joe Biden said he believed “some minds may be changed” after senators saw chilling security video Wednesday of the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, including of rioters searching menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. Biden said he didn’t watch any of the previous day’s proceedings live but later saw news coverage. This second impeachment trial, on the charge of incitement of insurrection, has echoes of last year's impeachment over the Ukraine matter, as prosecutors warn senators that left unchecked Trump poses a danger to the civic order. Even out of office, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters. The prosecutors on Thursday drew a direct line from his repeated comments condoning and even celebrating violence — praising “both sides” after the 2017 outbreak at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and urging his rally crowd last month to go to the Capitol and fight for his presidency. “There’s a pattern staring us in the face,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the lead prosecutor. “When Donald Trump tells the crowd as he did on January 6 to fight like hell, or you won’t have a country anymore. He meant for them to fight like hell.” Trump lawyers will argue later this week that his words were protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment and just a figure of speech. Though most of the Senate jurors seem to have made up their minds, making Trump’s acquittal likely, the never-before-seen audio and video released Wednesday is now a key exhibit in Trump’s impeachment trial as lawmakers prosecuting the case argue Trump should be convicted of inciting the siege. Senators sat riveted as the jarring video played in the chamber. Senators shook their heads, folded their arms and furrowed their brow. Screams from the audio and video filled the Senate chamber. Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma bent his head at one point, another GOP colleague putting his hand on his arm in comfort. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, saw himself in the footage, dashing down a hallway to avoid the mob. Romney said he hadn’t realized that officer Eugene Goodman, who has been praised as a hero for luring rioters away from the Senate doors, had been the one to direct him to safety. “That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional,” he said. Videos of the siege have been circulating since the day of the riot, but the graphic compilation shown to senators Wednesday amounted to a more complete narrative, a moment-by-moment retelling of one of the nation’s most alarming days. In addition to the evident chaos and danger, it offered fresh details on the attackers, scenes of police heroism and cries of distress. And it underscored how dangerously close the rioters came to the nation’s leaders, shifting the focus of the trial from an academic debate about the Constitution to a raw retelling of the assault. The footage showed the mob smashing into the building, rioters engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police and audio of Capitol police officers pleading for back-up. Rioters were seen roaming the halls chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” and eerily singing out “Where's Nancy?” in search for Pelosi. Pence, who had been presiding over a session to certify Biden’s election victory over Trump — thus earning Trump’s censure — was shown being rushed to safety, where he sheltered in an office with his family just 100 feet from the rioters. Pelosi was seen being evacuated from the complex as her staff hid behind doors in her suite of offices. “President Trump put a target on their backs and his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down,” said House prosecutor Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate representing the Virgin Islands. The goal of the presentation was to cast Trump not as an innocent bystander but rather as the “inciter in chief” who spent months spreading falsehoods about the election. “This attack never would have happened, but for Donald Trump,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, said as she choked back emotion. “And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon.” The Trump legal team takes the floor Friday and Saturday for up to 16 hours to lay out its defense. The difficulty facing Trump’s defense became apparent at the start as his lawyers leaned on the process of the trial, unlike any other, rather than the substance of the case against the former president. Trump's lawyers are likely to blame the rioters themselves for the violence. The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached. His lawyers also say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House. Even though the Senate rejected that argument in Tuesday's vote to proceed to the trial, the legal issue could resonate with Senate Republicans eager to acquit Trump without being seen as condoning his behavior. While six Republicans joined with Democrats to vote to proceed with the trial on Tuesday, the 56-44 vote was far from the two-thirds threshold of 67 votes needed for conviction. Minds did not seem to be changing Wednesday, even after senators watched the graphic video. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who was among those leading the effort to challenge the Electoral College tally, said, “The president’s rhetoric is at times overheated, but this is not a referendum on whether you agree with everything the president says or tweets.” It appears unlikely that the House prosecutors will call witnesses, and Trump has declined a request to testify. Trump's second impeachment trial is expected to diverge from the lengthy, complicated affair of a year ago. In that case, Trump was charged with having privately pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, then a Democratic rival for the presidency. The Democratic-led House impeached the president swiftly, one week after the attack. Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire and Kevin Freking in Washington, Nomaan Merchant in Houston and Michelle L. 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