Washington, Oct 08: In a move seemingly at odds with heightened anti-terrorism precautions in the US capital, the State Department eased security at its Foggy Bottom headquarters this week, officials said. Under the new rules, which took effect on Monday, uniformed guards from the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security will no longer check the identification of people seeking to walk into the lobbies of the Harry S Truman building, they said. According to an internal memo circulated on Monday, the rules were eased due to the fact that the department of homeland security's national threat level is now only at the "yellow," or "elevated risk," stage. Guards "will no longer require employees and visitors to display identification prior to entering the lobby area of the building when the national threat level is rated code 'yellow' or lower," the memo said. Should the threat level be elevated, the eased rules may be tightened, it said.
Despite the change, State Department building passes are still required to go through computerized turnstiles beyond the lobbies, it said. Guards may also conduct random identification checks, it added.
Bureau Report