[ad_1]
Senate investigation on January 6 Riots and destruction Before the violent attack, the U.S. Capitol exposed a wide range of failures by the government, the military, and law enforcement, including the internal collapse of multiple intelligence agencies, and the lack of training and preparation for the Capitol police who were quickly overwhelmed by the rioters.
The Senate report released on Tuesday was the first bipartisan review of how hundreds of Donald Trump supporters met with lawmakers to prove that Joe Biden’s election victory was able to violently breach the security line and break into the Capitol.
Two weeks ago, the Republicans knock down A piece of legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would establish an independent committee to investigate the incident, similar to the committee established after the September 11, 2001 attack.
The report includes relevant Frontline police They suffered chemical burns, brain injuries and fractures, and told the senators that when the command system collapsed, they had no direction.
It recommends immediate changes to give more powers to the Chief of Police of Congress, provide better planning and equipment for law enforcement, and simplify intelligence gathering among federal agencies.
The report did not delve into the root causes of the attack, including Trump’s role when he called on his supporters to “fight like hell” that day to overthrow his election defeat.
Trump before Impeached by the House of Representatives Because of “sedition”, but was later acquitted in the Senate trial. The report did not call this incident a “rebellion.”
“This report is important because it allows us to immediately improve the security situation in the Capitol,” said Democratic Senator Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Senate Rules Committee.
“But frankly, as a country and a democracy, it doesn’t answer some of the bigger problems we need to face.”
Hours of delay
The Senate report detailed that on January 6, the National Guard was postponed for several hours due to bureaucratic measures taken by officials from multiple agencies to release the army.
It details the airtime between Capitol and Pentagon officials when Steven Sund, the Capitol Police Chief, desperately begged for help.
It found that the Pentagon had spent hours on “mission planning” and seeking multi-level approval because the Congressional police were overwhelmed and brutally attacked by mobs.
It also pointed out that after George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police, the Department of Defense’s harsh response to the protests in the summer of 2020 “was criticized.”
The Senate Rules and Homeland Security Committee recommendations in the report authorize the Chief of the Congressional Police to directly seek help from the Washington, DC National Guard in an emergency.
The current procedure requires the Commissioner to first obtain an emergency statement from the Congressional Police Committee and then the Pentagon’s authorization, but the committee’s approval was not approved on January 6.
On January 6, Trump supporters tried to break through the police barrier in the U.S. Capitol [File: John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the Rules Committee, said that she and Republican Senator Roy Blunt will pass legislation to make changes.
The report also recommends the establishment of a unified intelligence service within the Congressional Police after the general failure of multiple agencies. Although the insurgents made public plans on the Internet, these agencies did not predict the attack.
The police’s intelligence department “knows about social media posts about the violence that occurred in the Capitol on January 6, including conspiracy to sabotage the Capitol, online sharing of maps of the Capitol’s tunnel system, and other specific threats of violence,” the report said. Failure to properly inform the leader of everything they found.
Senators also criticized the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security for downplaying online threats and failing to issue formal intelligence bulletins that would help law enforcement programs.
In response to the report, the Congressional police acknowledged that improvements are needed, and they said they are already making some improvements.
They said in a statement: “Law enforcement agencies across the country rely on intelligence, and the quality of intelligence can mean the difference between life and death.”
[ad_2]
Source link
