THE POLICE FORCE OF the United States Capitol did not take into account warnings ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress, and lacked adequate training to respond to it, according to its own inspector general. These findings are presented in a 104-page report that was given to Congress on Thursday, a day after it was leaked to NBC News.
The report’s lead author is Michael A. Bolton, who serves as the inspector general of the US Capitol Police. He presented his findings on Thursday before the Committee on House Administration, which deals with the general administration of the United States House of Representatives, including matters relating to employment, safety and appropriation.
According to Bolton’s report, Capitol Police did not act on intelligence reports that gave prior warning about the propensity for violence by supporters of the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement that formed around Donald Trump in late 2020. One intelligence warning, which is quoted in the inspector general’s report, stated that the Stop the Steal movement was attracting “white supremacists, militia members and others who actively promote violence [and] may lead to a significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike”.
Another intelligence report, issued on January 3, warned Capitol Police that Trump’s supporters had concrete plans to descend on the Capitol and were “actively promoting violence” with “Congress itself [as] the target”. Yet another intelligence report, issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, notified Capitol Police that maps of the Capitol Complex underground tunnel system were being circulated on online message boards frequented by Trump supporters.
The report concludes that, by the time the attack began to unfold on the afternoon of January 6, it was too late for Capitol Police force to stop it, because its personnel “lacked policies and procedures” that were needed to do so. The force was thus “severely unprepared” to deal with the mass insurrection that led to several deaths and many more injuries, the inspector general report concludes.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 16 April 2021 | Permalink
