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Before January 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a report by the department’s inspector general obtained by CBS News, U.S. Capitol Police officials did not act on intelligence suggesting that protesters coming to the rally that day could be armed and planned to “target” Congress.
The report, dated March 1, cites multiple “loopholes” and the department’s inability to release intelligence as early as December 30 that suggested protesters “may be inclined to turn violent.” The findings of the inspector general’s report have not been released before, and some lawmakers have insisted on making them public.
“The UCSP has not prepared a detailed, department-wide plan for the protests scheduled for January 6, 2021,” wrote Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton. Its review was the first federal audit of the Jan.6 attack.
The report documented the department’s failure to pass “relevant information obtained from outside sources,” including a memo from the Norfolk Division of the FBI on the eve of the attack, which warned of the “potential of violence … in connection with a project Rob ‘protest on January 6, 2021. “He said that late on the evening of January 5, a Capitol Police intelligence officer withdrew the note from the FBI system and l emailed internally.
The IG also said the department internally released “conflicting intelligence information” in the days leading up to January 6. The report cites a daily intelligence assessment shared by the Capitol Police that lists an upcoming event on January 6 as “Million MAGA March / US Capitol” and believes that the possibility of “acts of civil disobedience / arrests” arises. to produce as “unlikely” – despite an earlier internal assessment on Jan. 3 that “protestors’ sense of desperation and disappointment may further prompt them to turn violent” and “Congress itself is the target on the 6th.”
Testifying before Congress in February, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said the department was aware that extremist groups would participate in a January 6 protest and could target Congress and turn violent, but she said. denied that the department received a “credible” threat for a full-scale attack on Congress.
“Although we know the likelihood of violence from extremists, there was no credible threat that indicated tens of thousands of people would attack the U.S. Capitol, and intelligence received from the FBI or any other law enforcement partner did not indicate such a threat, ”Pittman said.
The report also revealed “inconsistencies” in the planning of the Capitol Police. Pittman and his deputy, Deputy Police Chief Chad Thomas, told the IG they intended to use the department’s emergency response team to “extract non-compliant violators and disarm them. protesters if necessary, “but other officials told the IG they” were not familiar with any plans to … arrest or disarm protesters. “
In his testimony, Pittman said the Capitol Police took steps to improve security, such as increasing the number of officers assigned to civil unrest units, deploying counter-surveillance officers to monitor crowds and dispatching officers with assault weapons outside the homes of some lawmakers. Capitol Police also added bicycle rack barriers outside the Capitol and helped intercept and monitor protesters’ radio communications on the day of the attack.
As the Department stood ready to neutralize and remove individuals or groups engaging in civil disobedience or violence between protesters, it was quickly overwhelmed by the thousands of insurgents (many of whom are armed) who immediately moved on. and without provocation started attacking officers, bypassing physical barriers refusing to comply with legal orders, ”Pittman said.
The IG document was the first in a series of Bolton’s “flash reports”. It includes a schedule provided by the department, and makes eight recommendations for the department to implement, including recommendations that the Capitol Police train its staff on how best to understand intelligence assessments.
The report also recommended that all Capitol Police officers and employees obtain security clearances to receive briefings on confidential information – a recommendation the IG first made to the Capitol Police. Capitol almost two years ago.
Unlike other agencies, the Capitol Police are not required by law to publicly disclose reports produced by their Inspector General. In a bipartisan letter earlier this week, Representatives Tim Ryan and Jamie Herrera Beutler called for its publication and criticized the department for its lack of transparency following the attack.
“This report will be a vital step in helping to better protect the Capitol complex,” wrote Ryan and Herrera Beutler.
In a statement to CBS News, the United States Capitol Police said they had “made major changes to improve the flow of information to Congress and the public following the attack on our democracy.” In an updated statement Thursday afternoon, the department said it “acknowledges having had internal challenges, including communication issues and inadequate training, which it is correcting.”
The statement added that the Capitol Police’s preparations were based on information gathered from law enforcement partners in the intelligence community, “none of which indicated that a massive insurgency of this magnitude was taking place. would produce “. The statement said the assessment of the information shared by the FBI was self-identified as gross and should not be acted upon.
“Despite its challenges,” the statement said, “the Department firmly believes that, barring excessive use of lethal force, nothing in its arsenal on January 6 could have stopped the violent insurgents that descended on the region. US Capitol. To improve the physical infrastructure, the Department believes that external support will be necessary for certain events. “
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