The federal government’s auditor has condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s hands-off approach to the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riot at the Capitol, suggesting it should have predicted the violence and beefed up security.
In the first of several Jan. 6 reports, the Government Accountability Office today charged that the department created in response to the 9/11 attacks missed social media signs of possible violence and didn’t adapt fast enough.
Instead of action, the report, titled, “Capitol Attack: Special Event Designations Could Have Been Requested for January 6, 2021, but Not All DHS Guidance is Clear,” portrayed a confusing and excuse-filled system in the federal and local government’s security planning.
The bottom line: There was likely enough evidence to have either the Secret Service take charge of the Jan. 6 Capitol election certification as it does for national political conventions or DHS take the lead in coordinating security as it does for the Kentucky Derby.
“A designation would likely have assured additional security to help respond to the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” the GAO said.
The agency described Jan. 6 as a busy and chaotic day that included a presidential rally near the White House, an unpermitted protest at the Capitol, and the joint session election confirmation inside the Capitol overseen by then-Vice President Mike Pence.
At issue was why the election confirmation wasn’t declared a “National Special Security Event (NSSE)” like an inauguration, giving the Secret Service the lead, or a slightly scaled back Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) like the Super Bowl or a presidential rally, where DHS and other federal agencies coordinate security.
DHS said the events of the day did not rise to those levels and responded to GAO by claiming that the events were nothing special. It also said it received no requests for help.
But GAO suggested it should have considered the online warnings of violence by pro-Trump groups. “There were other indications, such as social media posts, that additional security may have been needed at the Capitol Complex on January 6,” GAO said.
The riots caused $1.5 million in damage, the death of protester Ashli Babbitt, assaults on 140 officers, and the suicides and deaths of four officers that have been linked to the event. Some 582 protesters have been charged.
The report hit the agency’s stiffness, which DHS rejected in a written response. GAO added, “While past Congressional certifications of election results were not designated NSSEs, and DHS officials considered this normal congressional business, the lack of consideration of other factors, such as the large rally at the Ellipse that mobilized to the Capitol, and the climate surrounding the 2020 election demonstrate a gap in the adaptability of how these events are considered.”
The city government was also singled out, and it, too, rejected the GAO criticism.
But it was mostly DHS that GAO found problems with in its first Jan. 6 report. It concluded, “While DHS has developed factors for designating an event an NSSE, it is not clear whether they are adaptable to the current environment of emerging threats. The level of readiness to address the events of January 6, 2021, suggests that the factors may need to be revisited. Not considering the joint session of Congress to certify the election results demonstrates a lack of adaptability in changing threat environments. Being able to be dynamic and responsive to change would enable federal entities to implement better security planning.”
