Capitol Police have increased security in response to a potential threat from al-Qaeda which may target government buildings in Washington, DC.

At the Capitol Building, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer said, “Given the world situation and recently released snippet from al-Qaida threatening to attack Washington, we’re just being a tad more vigilant if that’s possible. Although, if you’re ready for a four-alarm fire at any time, it’s hard to be more vigilant.”

The additional security at the nation’s capital stems from concern related to the imagery used in the al-Qaeda-attributed Internet message and their known strategic interest in attacking Washington, DC again. At the same time, a DC delegate was reassured by the Capitol Police that there was no known specific threat to Washington that could be concretely discerned. As Gainer said, “There’s a lot of different chatter out there. The problem everybody has is, what’s real and what isn’t.” Diligent vigilance is in order, and that is what the Capitol Police are executing.