House law enforcement officials told lawmakers on Tuesday the Capitol Police were not ready for the massive Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol that evolved into a deadly and destructive attack on the historic building and that the now-fenced-in campus must be better protected.
“It was clear there was a failure of preparation,” acting House sergeant-at-arms Timothy Blodgett said in prepared testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.
Blodgett, in his testimony, said law enforcement officials “are beginning to have a better understanding” of the attack but said it was clear the Capitol security is not strong enough.
“We must harden this campus,” Blodgett said.”Too many access points were breached.”
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda D. Pittman, who also testified, told lawmakers, “The Capitol’s security infrastructure must change.”
An 8-foot nonscalable fence and barbed wire now surround the Capitol, and thousands of National Guard troops remain on campus. It’s not clear when or if the fencing will come down, and troops will remain at the Capitol until at least mid-March.
Democratic leaders appointed Blodgett after they fired sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving following the attack on the Capitol.
Democrats and Republicans are demanding answers and actions after throngs of pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol, many of them were allowed to enter by the Capitol Police. Five people died, and dozens were injured.
In addition to Irving, House and Senate leaders fired Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund and Senate sergeant-at-arms Michael Stenger.
Pittman told the Appropriations Committee, “The department should have been more prepared for this attack.”
Pittman said the Capitol Police knew militia groups and white supremacist organizations would be part of a protest that would be unlike “any of the previous protests held in 2020.”
Pittman said the Capitol Police “knew some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event” and that “there was a strong potential for violence, and that Congress was the target.”
Pittman said Sund, then the police chief, wanted to both declare a state of emergency ahead of the protest and request help ahead from the D.C. National Guard. But the Capitol Police Board “denied the request.”
The Capitol Police Board includes the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, the Capitol Police Chief, and the Architect of the Capitol.
Pittman said once the Capitol was under attack, Sund again asked the Capitol Police Board for authorization to summon the National Guard, “but he was not granted authorization for over an hour.”
Pittman said the 1,200 Capitol Police personnel on duty on Jan. 6 were not enough to fend off the protesters, even with help from hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department officers who arrived quickly to help.
They also lacked enough batons and pepper spray, she said, which “should have been staged for easy access.
She credited the police with their success in safely evacuating all of the members, none of whom were injured.
Rioters killed officer Brian Sicknick by striking him with a fire extinguisher.
Capitol officials and outside law enforcement are conducting multiple investigations into the attack, including the police shooting death of Ashli Babbitt, a protester who tried to gain entry into the House Speaker’s Lobby.
Pittman said the investigations will likely point to a need for big changes in what was once a wide-open Capitol campus.
“I believe the multiple reviews, after actions and investigations currently underway, will conclude that the Capitol’s security infrastructure must change and that the department needs access to additional resources, both manpower and physical assets,” Pittman said.
