WASHINGTON — Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda D. Pittman on Tuesday apologized to Congress and acknowledged her department’s failure to adequately act on intelligence before a violent mob of pro-Trump insurrectionists infiltrated the Capitol on Jan. 6. Pittman, who took over the force when former Chief Steven Sund resigned Jan.
Ahead of riot, Capitol Police knew of potential for violence, official says
U.S. Capitol Police officers stand watch outside the Senate as lawmakers vote on procedures to proceed with the impeachment of former President Donald Trump for inciting the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump supporters, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP)
Rachael Levy
, The Wall Street Journal
Acting police chief says department’s board turned down a request for National Guard support two days before the attack
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The U.S. Capitol Police knew before the Jan. 6 rally by supporters of former President Donald Trump that the event could turn violent, but the department didn’t sufficiently prepare, the acting police chief said Tuesday.
The acting chief of the Capitol Police apologized to Congress on Tuesday for the agency’s massive security failures Jan. 6, acknowledging during a closed-door briefing that the department knew there was a “strong potential for violence” but failed to take adequate steps to prevent what she described as a “terrorist attack.”
Acting U.S. Capitol police chief Yogananda Pittman told House members that a lack of officers and appropriate weaponry, plus poor communication and organization, contributed to the attack.
Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane and Adam Goldman, The New York Times
Published: 27 Jan 2021 12:59 AM BdST
Updated: 27 Jan 2021 12:59 AM BdST Tear gas is released into a crowd of protesters, with one wielding a Confederate battle flag that reads Come and Take It, during clashes with Capitol police at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US. presidential election results by the US Congress, at the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. REUTERS
The acting chief of the Capitol Police apologised to Congress on Tuesday for the agency’s massive security failures Jan 6, acknowledging during a closed-door briefing that the department knew there was a “strong potential for violence” but failed to take adequate steps to prevent what she described as a “terrorist attack.”