This afternoon will officially be the six-day anniversary of the white supremacist terrorist attack on the Capitol. It’s one of the strangest and most slow-burning news stories I’ve ever covered or tried to keep up with, mostly because there’s not even a cursory attempt at competence or disclosure from the law enforcement agencies involved. Last week, DC Mayor Bowser did a press conference where she spoke about what happened from her perspective, the perspective of the DC Police (who don’t have jurisdiction on federal grounds), and her efforts to coordinate with Virginia and Maryland governors and the National Guard. But that press conference is the sum total of any kind of law enforcement public disclosure. The Capitol Police, as an organization, was corrupted from within. The CP chief resigned the day after the siege, and the CP *still* has not done any kind of press conference.
From the videos and anecdotal reports going around, we know that there were incredibly brave and dutiful Capitol Police officers who saved lives and protected democracy. There were also Capitol Police officers removing barricades and allowing terrorists to storm the Capitol. There were also Capitol Police officers taking selfies with terrorists. And we still don’t know the extent of it! So… the Capitol Police have now suspended two officers for their actions (or inactions) on January 6th. More firings and suspensions will probably come.
Two US Capitol Police officers were suspended and at least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during last week’s assault on the Capitol, and federal agents will look at whether current and former law enforcement officers played a role in the riot.
One of the Capitol police officers took a selfie with someone who was part of the mob that overtook the Capitol and the other wore a “Make America Great Again” hat and started directing people around the building, according to Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat. He didn’t disclose how many other officers were under investigation but confirmed it was between 10 and 15, and didn’t say what they were being scrutinized for except that it was their behavior during the riot. Ryan told reporters that one individual had been arrested, but a spokesperson for the congressman later said he was wrong and no members of law enforcement have been arrested.
The spokesperson said at least 10 Capitol Police officers are being investigated for their roles in the riot. A House aide separately said there are as many as 17 officers under investigation as part of eight investigations into the insurrection at the Capitol.
In a statement Monday night, Capitol Police acting Chief Yogananda Pittman said several officers were suspended. She said the department “has been actively reviewing video and other open source materials of some USCP officers and officials that appear to be in violation of Department regulations and policies. Our Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate these behaviors for disciplinary action, up to, and including, termination. Several USCP officers have already been suspended pending the outcome of their investigations.”
Democratic members of the House have also raised questions about potential sympathies for the attackers among the ranks of US Capitol Police. That agency hasn’t responded to CNN’s request for comment. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, is among those who have others questions about whether some Capitol Police officers aided the protesters and were complicit in Wednesday’s insurrection. Clyburn, for instance, said it was fishy that the rioters knew the location of lawmakers’ offices.
All of the stuff about how the terrorists knew where to go, and knew which offices belonged to Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leadership… it’s chilling to hear. I genuinely believe that the terrorists had help from Capitol Police, and I genuinely believe that Trump ordered the Pentagon to slow-walk requests for help from the Capitol, and that there was a lot of willful inaction on behalf of Capitol Police higher-ups. We’ve also heard reports of cops from other jurisdictions being part of the terrorist mob and those cops FLASHING THEIR BADGES at Capitol Police. Again, investigate, suspend, fire and charge all of these a–holes with terrorism, from the top down.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
And the horned dude is refusing to eat in prison cause the food is not organic… says his mommy. Lolz for days.
These insurrection cosplayers are such losers, but the ex military and police types are dangerous. Any LEO involved should never hold a badge again.
If he goes into starvation, they will get a court order to force feed him. Prisons must offer meals that comply with religious need or specific medical need but they don’t have to comply with your dietary likes.
The judge has already caved. The snowflake is claiming a religious need to eat organic food. Had no idea that being a white supremist snowflake was now a religion. Huh.
Josephine- it’s especially ridiculous to grant it on religious grounds when the guys own mother already said it’s because he gets sick if he doesn’t eat organic. She clearly claimed medical necessity. Now it’s religion? Bull.
This entitled a– just wants special treatment. Bet you anything he’s got no problem eating non-organic chicken wings and drinking non-organic beer with buddies at the bar. Judge should have let him starve.
Agree that it’s bs that he’s claiming is organic diet is religious.
But there is hope! I saw on Twitter from lawyers and corrections staff who deal with clients/inmates requesting bs special diets that judges often grant it with the expectation they will slip up on their “special diet” sooner rather than later. Once they slip up, they lose the right to have that vegan or organic diet. They will forget that ramen or donuts aren’t vegan or organic and voluntarily eat it. As soon as that happens, they lose the special diet. This made a lot of sense to me and seems easier (and less wasted time and money) than fighting against their claims in court. Considering the idiot insurrectionist’s claim of religious right to an organic diet, I’m ok with the judge going this route vs some q/trumpist setting up a GFM to help cover attorney fees and waste the judge/courts time.
NB. In the real world, I have no issues with special diet folks slipping up and having something outside of guidelines. It happens and doesn’t negate their commitment to said diet.
When the other prisoners find this out, well he’s going to all the special attention he wants then.
He needs to be given a free range, organic lion. A living one.
I heard about that, the dude in jail. Boy oh boy he’s getting a nasty reality check right now.
I wish we could stop using his picture, attention is exactly what he wants. He’s admitted he wears the dumbass outfit to get attention so he can spout off his insane beliefs. Now that he’s in prison he’s naturally looking for some other way to grab headlines. Disgustingly, my MAGAt brother briefly idolized him last week before he and his ilk decided he was Antifa, so there is no bottom of my loathing for this dude.
I came here to say exactly this. This is the most attention this horned toad has gotten in his entire failed actor mommy’s boy life, and he is loving it.
I agree with all of that and more! There’s articles out from black officers in the Capitol Police stating that it minimizes the actual invasion, and the credible threat they posed. These officers say that this was more of a smart, military coup, incredibly organized and dangerous, and these dumb dumbs being the face of these pictures hides that. I agree, it was days before I saw photos of the men with zipties. You only need those for one reason.
@Ellie and @Original Jenns Totally agree with you on this. This entire thing was much more coordinated and I think even the ineptness of the terrorists who seemingly bungled things is just a smoke screen.
I know it’s not the same jurisdiction, and he’s a criminal, but Sherriff Joe Arpaio would never stand for these histrionics. You got green bologna and you liked it!
I’m being sarcastic of course. Nobody deserves green bologna. However, insisting on organic food is a bridge too far. What an entitled little sh*t.
Joe would’ve been at the insurrection, if he could have. Jake is one of his people. He’d probably have him in isolation (for his protection) and send him meals from the fancy restaurants, here in Phoenix. All on our taxpayer’s dime. Joe is a POS. Sorry not sorry.
Btw, the Viking dude needs an organic diet in jail his lawyer said. His mom says he gets really sick if he can’t have his organic food. Seriously, these are the people that think they want a civil war!
Omg lmao about the organic diet. I’m sorry but maybeeee he should have thought about that BEFORE he was doing highly illegal activities?!
It’s like actions have consequences.
All food is carbon based, which makes it organic from a chemical perspective. So eat up terrorist.
This is absolutely my new favourite answer
But they call people snowflakes … who’s being extra now?
These officers and other traitors will probably use the oldest excuse in the book. “I was just following orders” It truly is disgusting, and as a Jewish American these uprisings are extremely difficult to watch as most of the demonstrators seemed to be anti-semitic. This is Germany in 1938.
One of the talking heads said yesterday that ex-military convicted of sedition can lose military pension and benefits. Sorry I was working and listening at the same time and did not get the details. Any lawyers know if this is true?
I don’t know, I think the ‘convicted of sedition’ is the sticking point. Looks like the worst the will happen is that they’ll lose their current jobs.
The majority of the Capitol Hill police did their jobs but were overwhelmed. Management (specifically the House and Senate Sgts. At Arm) is to blame for what happened. Officers are on record saying they were unprepared and ill equipped because the normal briefings, equipment disbursal, etc for events such as this wasn’t done. Also, the Secret Service is investigating several officers as well who supported this insurrection.
I read a first hand account of a professor who attended all thec protests of the administration (including March for Science), and he said it was the smallest police presence by far.
He also said that normally, protesters aren’t allowed to carry anything more dangerous than poster board. There’s usually check points and bags being searched. None of that was in place.
So regardless of lack of manpower, the terrorists were allowed to be armed.
The Washington Post had an interview with the Capitol Police Chief who resigned, he also said the sergeant at arms both wanted authorization for back up, even though they are the authorization. So that’s another delay, the whole response was slow rolled.
Hmm, I attended the march that happened after Trump’s inauguration, there were no check points and nobody searched my bag.
Just confirmed with my partner who went to the march on science in DC. There were definitely checkpoints at points of entry. He had his bag checked and was also wanded for that event.
It is very hard to believe that that was not the necessary protocol for 1/6. It is a scary thought that this was an inside job.
Exactly. It was coordinated from the top down. The accounts of low police presence and no bag search reminds me of Larry Neal’s account of the day Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon. Nothing was as it normally would be, no searches, people knew he was under great threat, and the lack of preparation and attention to safety, among other things, made it clear that this was an attack from within and was planned.
Representative Lauren Boebert also needs to be arrested and removed from office. She was tweeting locations during the attack
This. Amazing how little coverage this has gotten.
There are people saying she should be booted from congress because she’s complicit. She’s more than complicit – she’s an accomplice; apparently she was tweeting Pelosi’s location in particular. She’s also apparently amongst those GOPers pushing past Capitol Police, to elude the newly installed metal detectors. Funny how those most against the ‘elites’, act elite when push literally comes to shove.
Every single cop in the United States should have to wear a body camera. Always. Technology is good enough that this can and should happen. They need to be held accountable. Being a person in uniform should not grant you some magical immunity from being charged for crimes. It’s ridiculous.
A judge gave horn guy his organic diet on “religious grounds.” She found his fasting “deeply concerning.” Sigh.
Oh, geez, really? Wouldn’t MAGAts call this type of person a snowflake? And eating organic isn’t religious, that’s insulting to the faithful.
And what exactly was Ted Cruz’s role in all this? Don’t we deserve an answer on that too????
The NYT reporters in the Capitol on 1/6 reported hearing Capitol police officers give directions to the rioters on how to navigate the building (The Daily Podcast). Another NYT story interviewed a rioter who said a Capitol policeman gave him directions to Chuck Schumer’s office. Even after the riot, when they had control of the building, rioters were simply escorted out instead of being arrested. WTF? I know people who work in the Capitol and they said they walk by a sniper team every day on their way into work. Where were those guys and what were their use of force orders? The possible involvement by the Capitol Police makes this sound more like coup than a riot. My only consolation is having your bosses be pursued by a murderous mob is a pretty good way to piss them off. There will be investigations!
I’ve read a lot of articles, and they are dropping pieces of damming information that’s hard to parse because no one has the whole picture. Yet it does not seem hyperbole that this was coordinated and complicit coup by the Capital police, Pentagon and National Guard. I mean, people will say Not All Police or Authorities…but there were so much stalling/lying/outrageous (telling police not to use violence lol, that’s new!) instructions at just about every higher level of police & military chain that allowed the insurrections take over the Capital Building and then leave without arrest or even collection of evidence! Insane!
I hope there is a congressional investigation, not only to expose how ill-prepared and possibly traitorous those responsible for protecting the capital might be, but the other piece of the puzzle is WHY these screaming dudes in military armour were not considered a threat, unlike say a group of people painting the phrase Black lives matter on the street.
The point has been made again and again, but it’s not hard to see that if these were BLM activists there would have been a total lockdown of the site, the national guard and swat on call if not out in full force, and many more arrests and likely deaths. I’m thankful there weren’t more deaths, but at this point there might be more police officer suspensions than arrests, at least from the first numbers I saw.
One of the the sheep on 1/6 killed himself in Georgia. so the death count rises to about seven. #45, his family, some senators and congress persons has more blood on their hands. How does it feel to lie to people for four years, this is some of the consequences your 🤥.
Are you referring to the police officer who took his own life as “sheep”?
No he died in DC and there’s nothing as of yet to indicate he was part of it. He was the fifth death.
I want a congressional inquiry and I want the White House to investigate this from soup to nuts I would put VP Kamala Harris on to this as she was a prosecutor and I bet she would leave no stone unturned. I cannot wait till the 20th of Jan. I may have some champagne to mark the event
Coups happen all over the world and almost always have inside assistance. This is how it’s done. We are all having trouble believing that such a thing could happen in this country, supposedly the heart of democracy. We think we’re “above that sort of thing” but we’re not. The deeper they dig into this, the more they will discover just how extensive this insider assistance penetrated. And it could definitely happen again.
I expect a slap on the wrist as history has shown us that white men get a different kind of justice and aren’t held accountable. Also DUH it’s an inside job: aside from the freakin president of the united states leading the way, black people have been saying for ages that law enforcement and authoritative figures of this ilk are corrupt. This is America.
Exactly @livealot
I think that the insider help bothers me most of all.
Which is why I am concerned about the Inauguration going ahead in its present form. It will need massive security, and how confident could you be you had pinpointed all the traitors in the police and guards? It’s very worrying.
I just read an article in the Boston Globe where Ayanna Pressley’s chief of staff, Sarah Groh, talked about her and Pressley going to Pressley’s office to seek safety and finding that every panic button had been ripped out sometime previously. The rioters hadn’t been in that part of the building yet, so someone had done that an unknown amount of time beforehand. Because Pressley gets so many death threats, they do safety drills in her office regularly, and those panic buttons in that specific office have been used before, per Groh, so it’s not like they’ve just been missing for the last two years and no one noticed. Someone who works on Capitol Hill and had access to legislative offices had to have removed them on purpose.