After Capitol siege, Hyattsville wants state to study police extremism

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The Hyattsville City Council turns its attention to national politics at its Tuesday meeting, considering two measures focused on the attempted Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. The first would condemn President Trump and the attempted insurrection, while the second calls on Maryland legislators to study extremism in state police forces and to grant greater power to local officials dealing with “domestic terror” threats.

The two-page resolution condemning the attempted insurrection places the blame places the blame for the riot squarely on Donald Trump, nothing that he “urged” his supporters to come to D.C. to stop the certification on false pretenses of election fraud. The resolution goes on to “strongly condemn the acts of President Trump and other elected officials who encouraged individuals individuals to attack the Capitol,” and calls for those involved in the riot to be prosecuted to the fullest.

The second measure authorized interim Mayor Kevin Ward to send a letter to the Maryland General Assembly about the attack. Sponsored by Ward plus councilor’s Joseph Solomon, Erica Spell-Wolf, Ben Simasek, Daniel Peabody and Carriana Suiter, the letter calls on legislators to “empower [Maryland Attorney General] and state’s attorneys “greater capacity to protect Maryland communities from domestic terror.”

The letter is to also request a commission to “plan greater coordination between state resources and local agencies in responding to the threat of domestic terror within Maryland municipalities.”

At least six Marylanders have been charged with crimes stemming from their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2020, riot.

Further, the letter also calls on state lawmakers to form a commission to determine the “extent and pervasiveness of biased or extremist views held by law enforcement officers within the state of Maryland.”