On December 19th, President Trump tweeted: "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" And he was not wrong. Washington D.C. is known for its many law enforcement agencies, as it is the capital of the United States. The Metropolitan PD, the U.S. Park Police, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the National Guard were all at the protest. With all this security, one would think no one could get into the Capitol Building, but that is far from the truth.
A Timeline - In the Fall of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security makes an assessment of the threat and just an overview as to how the people might react to a possible transition of power. (paraphrased from NPR story).
Then in late December, the NYPD sends a packet of information gathered from a couple social media platforms to the U.S. Capitol Police and the Washington Field Office of the FBI. It indicated that there was likely going to be some sort of backlash when lawmakers tried to certify the election results on the 6th. This information was used to help make a plan for the coming days.
On January 4th, the Metro PD arrests the leader of the far-right Proud Boys group. “He was charged with destruction of property and possession of high-capacity firearm magazines. He’s released the next day and told to leave Washington.” It was noted by the police that laws in D.C. forbade anyone carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of any activity protected by the First Amendment. The U.S. Capitol Police Chief asked for Senate and House security officials’ permission to request the National Guard be placed on standby in case the protest gets out of control. The Washington Post states something along the lines of this. The House Sergeant at Arms, Pual Irving, said he wasn’t fond of the idea of formally declaring an emergency, without actually knowing how bad it would be. And the Senate Sergeant of Arms, Micheal Stenger, recommends the Chief should informally seek out the help of his Guard contacts, asking them to be on alert if their help is needed.
On the 5th of January, the FBI Field Office in Norfolk, Virginia, sends out a warning the extremists have violent plans for the next day (reported by the Washington Post). The warning is sent after FBI analysts find a roster with specific threats to members of Congress, a map of tunnels under the Capitol complex, and plans to meet up in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina to prepare for the 6th. This is shared with all the agencies in the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and officials had a conference call to discuss the warning. The NYPD and Norfolk information was not yet validated or analyzed, but it was concerningly specific. The National Guard couldn’t be deployed though, since it only came from a couple sources. In a letter to the Justice Dept., the mayor of D.C. says “we are mindful” of the events of 2020, likely referring to the violent clearing of peaceful protestors in the summer of last year.
It was decided that for the time being, there would be a limited force of the National Guard and there would be about 340 soldiers to direct the traffic flow. But all policing would be up to the local law enforcement. The Chief of the Capitol Police was told everything was under control, but he later told The New York Times “That turned out to be completely false.” Then comes the 6th of January, with the protests and all.
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About the Contributor
Staff Writer, Eliza Stephen
Eliza is a freshman at Oak Ridge High School. She loves reading and writing, and she loves getting lost in the worlds that are created in literature! She also likes art, music, and traveling.