[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal oversight agencies have launched a comprehensive review of how the FBI, Pentagon and other law enforcement agencies have responded to the riot on the U.S. Capitol, including s ‘There have been failures in information sharing and other preparations that have left the historic symbol of democracy vulnerable to assault from a host of supporters of President Donald Trump.
The investigations, undertaken by the inspectors general of the ministries of Justice, Homeland Security, the Interior and Defense, may give rise to sharp criticism of the government’s handling of a deadly breach in the Capitol in which armed Trump loyalists stormed the police and came into close contact with elected officials. Reviews will cover everything from whether the FBI correctly shared information with other law enforcement agencies about the potential for violence to how the Pentagon mobilized for the Jan. 6 crisis. .
The launch of multiple concurrent investigations comes as failures in government preparation, coordination and response are increasingly highlighted more than a week after the riot. Capitol Police, for example, said they prepared for the only First Amendment activity on Capitol Hill on the day lawmakers gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, even though Trump he himself had for weeks encouraged his supporters to come to Washington and called on them to “fight like hell” at a rally shortly before the riot.
The Pentagon said Capitol Hill police turned down an offer of help days before the riot. Once it became clear on the day of the event that his help would be needed, the Defense Department had to scramble to bring in a larger force to support the police.
An FBI official who initially said there was no information suggesting uncontrollable violence later admitted that the office was aware of a warning on an Internet bulletin board, although the official said the message was not attributable to an individual person.
At the Justice Department, the Inspector General’s investigation will examine whether information has been properly shared by justice with other agencies, including the Capitol Police, about the potential for violence.
The Inspector General said he “will also assess whether there are any weaknesses in DOJ protocols, policies or procedures that have affected the ability of the DOJ or its components to effectively prepare for and respond to events of the US Capitol on January 6 ”.
The review will almost certainly include an assessment of the intelligence the Department of Justice – and in particular the FBI – had gathered before and after the riot. It comes days after the FBI acknowledged that one of its field offices compiled an internal newsletter warning of potential violence directed against Congress.
The Washington Post reported that the Jan. 5 report from the FBI field office in Norfolk indicated that the bulletin detailed threats from extremists to commit “war.”
Steven D’Antuono, the deputy director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, said once he received the warning, the information was quickly shared with other law enforcement agencies. through the Joint Task Force on Terrorism in Washington, DC.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security said it would review the response of its component agencies, focusing in part on the Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis. This unit issues alerts to law enforcement agencies across the country.
The Home Office’s internal watchdog, meanwhile, will review the actions of park police on the Ellipse, the site of Trump’s speech to supporters at a rally before the riot.
And the Defense Department Inspector General has announced that he is launching a review of the Pentagon’s “roles, responsibilities and actions” to prepare for and respond to the protest Trump spoke to and the insurgency that has followed at the Capitol.
____
Associated Press editors Ellen Knickmeyer and Ben Fox contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link