On January 6th, 2021, former President Donald Trump supporters sieged the Capitol, and protested against President Joe Biden’s election victory. However, the protest soon turned into an attack on Congress as they broke through windows and pounded on doors. One supporter eventually got shot by an officer after trying to reach a lobby where senators were evacuating.
These details have puzzled investigators regarding the failures of both intelligence and law enforcement agencies that day.
There were already many warnings both from word-of-mouth and social media the day before the attack.
“If they don’t show up, we enter the Capitol as the Third Continental Congress and certify the Trump Electors,” one post on Twitter said.
Unfortunately, this information failed to reach the top law enforcement officials, which ultimately led to the lack of preparedness.
The reason for this communication failure is due to the nature of how information is transferred within the FBI. When a person with information gives it to the FBI, a special agent goes to the person’s home to do the transfer manually. The result is a delayed response to what should be a swift process.
Additionally, a report on the Capitol riot explained in detail about the intelligence failures, miscommunications and security lapses by the FBI that day. The document also pointed out the problems with the special Capitol police unit that supposedly handles civil disturbances. Many of them lacked professional training and had poor equipment. According to the New York Times, officers were not allowed to wear protective gear and carry nonlethal weapons.
During the House committee’s public presentations in June and July, much of the investigation was directed towards Mr. Trump’s actions before and after the Capitol attack, particularly on social media. However, new information has been gathered by the “blue team,” who focuses primarily on law enforcement failures (of the police, intelligence agencies, and the military) leading up to and the day of the attack.
“The team has conducted more than 100 interviews and depositions touching on these matters of security and intelligence across several federal and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Fusion Centers, Office of Intelligence & Analysis, among others,” a committee aide told NBC News. “The team is looking into what intelligence these agencies had at their disposal; how that intelligence was analyzed, stitched together, and distributed; and whether law enforcement operationalized that intelligence.”
Despite the investigation, there are still many questions that have yet to be answered. Who placed the pipe bombs outside the headquarters? Is the law enforcement trustworthy? According to a spokesperson for the Justice Department inspector general, this investigation still remains ongoing.
Link to articles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-failures-capitol-siege-avoided-jan-6-committees-scorn-not-long-rcna38615
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/us/politics/capitol-riot-security.html
These details have puzzled investigators regarding the failures of both intelligence and law enforcement agencies that day.
There were already many warnings both from word-of-mouth and social media the day before the attack.
“If they don’t show up, we enter the Capitol as the Third Continental Congress and certify the Trump Electors,” one post on Twitter said.
Unfortunately, this information failed to reach the top law enforcement officials, which ultimately led to the lack of preparedness.
The reason for this communication failure is due to the nature of how information is transferred within the FBI. When a person with information gives it to the FBI, a special agent goes to the person’s home to do the transfer manually. The result is a delayed response to what should be a swift process.
Additionally, a report on the Capitol riot explained in detail about the intelligence failures, miscommunications and security lapses by the FBI that day. The document also pointed out the problems with the special Capitol police unit that supposedly handles civil disturbances. Many of them lacked professional training and had poor equipment. According to the New York Times, officers were not allowed to wear protective gear and carry nonlethal weapons.
During the House committee’s public presentations in June and July, much of the investigation was directed towards Mr. Trump’s actions before and after the Capitol attack, particularly on social media. However, new information has been gathered by the “blue team,” who focuses primarily on law enforcement failures (of the police, intelligence agencies, and the military) leading up to and the day of the attack.
“The team has conducted more than 100 interviews and depositions touching on these matters of security and intelligence across several federal and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Fusion Centers, Office of Intelligence & Analysis, among others,” a committee aide told NBC News. “The team is looking into what intelligence these agencies had at their disposal; how that intelligence was analyzed, stitched together, and distributed; and whether law enforcement operationalized that intelligence.”
Despite the investigation, there are still many questions that have yet to be answered. Who placed the pipe bombs outside the headquarters? Is the law enforcement trustworthy? According to a spokesperson for the Justice Department inspector general, this investigation still remains ongoing.
Link to articles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-failures-capitol-siege-avoided-jan-6-committees-scorn-not-long-rcna38615
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/us/politics/capitol-riot-security.html
