When the mob that entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to protest the result of the presidential election they did so, in part, by entering through the building’s windows. Many of the windows were protected by a security window film that was installed after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The fragment retention window film, which also was installed on all the House of Representative and Library of Congress buildings, is effective in holding glass in place during explosions and attempts to break the glass by building intruders. However, a second component of the window safety system, the installation of a wet glaze attachment system, was not in place at the Capitol building. As a result, while the glass withstood attempts by the mob to shatter it, the window frames were dislodged, allowing the intruders to enter the Capitol. Had the wet glaze attachment system been in place it would have been far more difficult for the mob to enter the Capitol building. For years, windows in numer...
