One House Democrat gave a blistering assessment to describe law enforcement’s preparedness in the days and hours before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said it was “pure dumb luck that” more people weren’t killed during the siege shortly after the House Appropriations Committee held a briefing with acting U.S. Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman.
“It was only by pure dumb luck that elected officials, staffers, and more Capitol policemen were not killed,” he said. Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, noted that lawmakers were “shaking their heads in disbelief” throughout the briefing about the security breakdown.
Pittman acknowledged that “the department should have been more prepared for this attack,” and said Capitol Police “knew some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event.” She also explained that “there was a strong potential for violence, and that Congress was the target,” even though they were ill-prepared to handle it.
Similarly, acting House Sergeant-at-arms Timothy Blodgett said, “It was clear there was a failure of preparation,” in prepared testimony. “We must harden this campus,” Blodgett explained. ”Too many access points were breached.”
“They had the information. They did not act on it. And a question that I have, and one that I think we need to get to the bottom of, is who made the decision not to act?” DeLauro said. “People said today that there was ample evidence, that the intelligence agencies had ample evidence, that an angry mob was going to descend on Washington with Congress’s meeting to certify the election as the intended target.”
Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, the top Republican on the committee, also rebuked law enforcement’s lack of preparedness ahead of the deadly riot that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.
“While many questions remain, it is clear that the failure was not due to a lack of intelligence, but rather a failure to properly act on this intelligence. This is unacceptable and left our law enforcement men and women on the ground unprepared for the danger they would face. These heroes not only deserve our gratitude for successfully keeping Members and staff safe, they deserve answers and a commitment to do better,” Granger said in a statement.
More than a hundred people have been arrested for their alleged roles in the chaos that occurred as Congress held the traditional joint session of Congress in which they certify the Electoral College results, in this case for President Biden. The Justice Department revealed on Tuesday that 400 subject case files have been opened so far, a number expected to grow, and there are more than 150 cases with federal charges related to the siege.
Pittman defended former Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund, who was fired in the aftermath of the attack, saying that he wanted to declare a state of emergency ahead of the protest and request help ahead from the D.C. National Guard, but the Capitol Police Board, made up of the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, the Capitol Police Chief, and the Architect of the Capitol, “denied the request.”
Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, another committee member, called the hearing “the beginning of the beginning” but added, “there are still a lot of questions that are out there that need to be teased out.”
