Washington state Capitol reopening to public July 1

The Washington state Capitol building will reopen to the public on July 1 after being closed since March 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement Thursday state officials said the Department of Enterprise Services is working to re-establish public tours and is recruiting tour staff.

RELATED: Security fencing removed from Washington Capitol campus

Security fending around buildings on the Capitol campus was removed in early May, four months after the barriers went up during national unrest tied to the presidential election.

A crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the gates to the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia on Jan. 6, the same day a pro-Trump mob stormed the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C.