The FBI warned of a “war” on the Capitol, but the report failed to reach the top of the police
This is the first time since the storm that parliamentary committees have considered the violent events of January 6. The important officials responsible for Parliament’s security are heard by the Senate, among others.
The high-profile FBI warning came from the agency’s Virginia regional office. The intelligence report, which was sent to the Capitol Police, among other things, pointed to threats on social media about the “ war ” during a demonstration by Trump supporters against the presidential election results.
The FBI bulletin was mailed to the Capitol and Washington police the night before the storming of Parliament. No alarms were fired there. The message was not going to reach the top superiors of either of my police forces. According to the FBI, the intelligence information disclosed on various social media channels does not contain “specific and credible details” about the potential violence.
In pre-prepared notes before two Senate committees on Tuesday, former Capitol Police Chief Stephen Sound will describe a “unlike anything” scene he saw in his 30 years of policing.https://t.co/WB2ztu9wJM
– KCBS 106.9 FM / 740 AM (KCBSRadio) February 23, 2021
High level
None of the information we received predicted anything Then-capitol police chief Stephen Sunde said at the hearing. We had well planned a mass demonstration with the potential for violence. In the end we faced a coordinated military attack on my agents and a violent takeover of the Capitol building. “
The two people in charge of security in the Senate and the House of Representatives also had to admit that they had not seen the warning. The trio resigned in the days following the violent storm that killed five people. Robert Conte, the chief of the Washington Police Department, told senators that senior FBI officials did not mention him at the meetings either.
According to the FBI, the information was discussed in the command post created the day before the storm, which also included the Capitol Police. However, during the hearing, senators questioned why the FBI had not raised the alarm at the time. According to Democratic Senator Gary Peters, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, this should not have happened.
“I was stunned by the army administration’s response.”
Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Conte said he was “honestly shocked” at the National Guard’s slow response to his request for assistance.
https://t.co/l54J2Td4jgWashington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 23, 2021
blaming
The senator also denounced that lower-ranking Sunde officials had warned him about the FBI report. “How can you not get this important information?” Asked Peters, the capitol chief at the time. Sund admitted, “This information was helpful.”
Sund, like other senior officials who heard on Tuesday, felt he was not responsible for what happened on January 6. They argued that they were not prepared for the violence, because they had not received important information at the highest level from the various federal services.
Sund also tried to blame the Ministry of Defense. According to the police chief, the Pentagon waited hours on the day of the storm to send the National Guard. Protesters had already arrived at the Capitol by then. According to Sindh and Corps Chief Conte, a senior Pentagon official, General Walter Platt, said in an emergency meeting that he would recommend his superiors not to deploy the guards. The general was concerned about how he would appear nationally and internationally if armed soldiers were to come to the rescue of Parliament.
The two said it was urgent because the agents were already fighting the protesters. Sund: “After about two hours, we haven’t got approval from the Pentagon to deploy the National Guard.” Conte said he was “literally distraught” about what he believed to be the military’s unofficial behavior.
“Pop culture enthusiast. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Analyst. Student. Explorer.”