The agency also lacked necessary policies and procedures leaving them unprepared to deal with the deadly attack, an inspector general report found. The Capitol Police ignored critical intelligence ahead of the Jan. 6th riot, including overlooking a warning that, “Congress itself is the target,” according to an internal watchdog report obtained by NBC News. The police force tasked with protecting the U.S. Capitol also lacked policies and procedures that left them severely unprepared to deal with the deadly insurrection, the 104-page report prepared by the Capitol Police’s inspector general found. The report has not been made public. The findings offer a devastating account of the Capitol Police preparation ahead of and response to the deadly attack that unfolded on Jan. 6th when a crowd of supporters of then-President Donald Trump descended on the building to try to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. The report also makes several recommendations about how the Capitol Police can be better prepared in the future. NBC News reviewed the report on Wednesday ahead of a public hearing on Thursday before a House Administration subcommittee to discuss its findings. The watchdog’s findings were first reported by The New York Times. In perhaps its most damning finding, the inspector general found that the Capitol Police’s intelligence unit warned three days before the riot that supporters of Trump, who believed his false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, had made specific plans to target Congress on Jan. 6 and were “actively” promoting violence. (…) The report found that the Department of Homeland Security had also issued a warning to the Capitol Police, and notified them that it had identified a map of the U.S. Capitol’s tunnel system on message boards where Trump supporters congregated. In addition, the report found that an FBI field office in Norfolk, Va., also warned the Capitol Police. The so-called “Norfolk Memo” stated that, “an online thread discussed specific calls for violence stating, ‘Be ready to fight/ Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa [a euphemism for Antifa] slave soldier being spilled.'” “‘Get violent… stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal,'” the memo stated.
via nbcnews: Capitol Police ignored intelligence warnings ahead of Jan. 6 riots, watchdog report finds
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