D.C. mayor says U.S. needs to take "domestic white extremism" seriously after Capitol siege

What she's saying: In response to anchor Chuck Todd's question on how long D.C. will be guarded like a fortress or "armed camp," Bowser countered: "I think the question is a bigger question, Chuck. It is how serious is our country going to take domestic white extremism?"

• "And I think what we saw here last week is that we didn't take it seriously enough. We never believed that so-called patriots would attempt to overthrow their government and kill police officers, but that's exactly what happened."
• "So I do think we have to take another posture in our city that is more domestic terrorist-focused and external to our country and enact accordingly."
• Bowser added that fences and armed troops in the streets of D.C. should not be permanent, but "we do have to take a different posture."

The backdrop: The Department of Homeland Security said in its 2020 threat assessment that white supremacist extremists "remain the most persistent and lethal threat" in the U.S.

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report published around the same time that white supremacist groups were responsible for 67% of "terrorist plots and attacks" in the first eight months of 2020, per the New York Times.

The state of play: The FBI is investigating hundreds of felony cases "tied to sedition and conspiracy" as a result of the Capitol breach, as well as assaults on police officers, potential theft of national security information, and felony murder.

• But federal officials have not described individuals linked to the violence as terrorists.