Public safety leaders want to see a drop in protests and vandalism at public buildings in Minnesota and nationwide before taking down the fence that has surrounded the State Capitol since May.
First meant as a temporary precaution against a threat to the building amid rioting after George Floyd's killing, the fence has remained at the urging of state officials fearful that continued volatile protests will spill over onto the Capitol steps. It is costing the state about $8,200 per month.
Administration Commissioner Alice Roberts-Davis told an Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security on Tuesday that the 140-acre Capitol complex in St. Paul had seen 48 acts of vandalism, from graffiti to property damage, since August.
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said the fence was a necessary buffer at a time of ongoing, often confrontational, protests in the area.
"We would like to see a diminution of the number of protests that originate with groups that have a history of vandalism or assaultive behavior," he said.
"We are also concerned about the political climate. … Currently we have organized groups that are in such conflict with each other that when they show up at the Capitol we have a much more volatile protest situation than we have had before."
At Tuesday's hearing, led by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the committee once again declined to set a time frame for the fence's removal. Harrington said in a recent Star Tribune interview that the upcoming trial of four former Minneapolis police officers charged with killing Floyd is also cause for concern for stoking further unrest.
Harrington told the committee Tuesday that 366 events had taken place at the State Capitol since June, 86 of which he said required the State Patrol to be present "in a significant fashion." There have been attempts to drive onto the grounds or deface the Capitol with red paint, he said, which mirror trends seen around the country.
