The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is increasing its security ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Congress next week, the department said in a statement on Friday.
A group of bipartisan congressional leaders invited Netanyahu in May to address the chambers in person amid Israel's war with the terrorist organization Hamas. The speech will be held in front of a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, but is expected to be boycotted by multiple far-left congressional members.
USCP said it is working "around the clock" to try and increase its security detail ahead of the speech, and is working with federal, state and local partners to prepare for the visit. Netanyahu is also expected to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House ahead of the address.
“For safety reasons, we never provide specific security details, but generally we can say that our plan includes adding more officers — including from several outside agencies — continuing our robust intelligence sharing with our partners, and ensuring that we have enough resources for our teams,” USCP representatives told The Hill.
The police department said it expects to see a "large number" of demonstrators at the Capitol building, but that all protests will need to be done "peacefully" and legally.
More security details and road closures for the week of the visit are expected to be announced in the coming days.
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