Was the US Capitol attack planned?

Attackers in organised columns, a woman shouting instructions on a megaphone, and suspicious tours the day before: investigators are probing the possibility that the January 6 attack on the US Capitol was planned, with help from insiders.

Disturbing videos, photos and online communications point to potential conspiracy. In one video, more than a dozen men wearing assault force-type garb push up the Capitol steps in a line, cutting through the dense crowd towards the building’s doors.

In another, a woman in a pink hat gives directions via megaphone to others inside the building, telling them where to go. And several men, including two who made it inside the Senate chamber, carried zip ties that could be used to restrain hostages.

Some officials said many of the pro-trump protesters who broke into the offices of top legislators like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to know how to navigate the maze-like Capitol.

“They knew where to go,” senior Democrat James Clyburn told CBS News. “Yes, somebody on the inside of those buildings were complicit in this.”

Prosecutors have arrested dozens so far and say more than 200 could be charged. But they have not used the words “conspiracy” or “plot” to describe the unprecedented assault on the US legislature.

Michael Sherwin, the Washington federal prosecutor overseeing the investigation, said on Friday they see “breadcrumbs of organisation” including communications between those inside the building and outside.

He said it was a “Tier 1 top priority” for law enforcement to determine if there was an “overarching command and control” and “organised teams” in the breach of the Capitol.

“This is going to take weeks if not months to find out the actual motivations of some of these groups,” he said.

But, he added, “There is no direct evidence at this point of kill-capture teams and assassinations,” he said.

Analysts say much of the activity on January 6 was chaotic, disorganised and more typical of a spontaneous riot.

But Representative Mikie Sherrill said on Wednesday that groups of Trump supporters had toured the Capitol for “reconnaissance” a day before the attack, calling the visits “suspicious.

The visitors “could only have gained access to the Capitol Complex from a Member of Congress or a member of their staff,” the former Navy helicopter pilot and other lawmakers said in a letter to Capitol security.

“The ties between these groups inside the Capitol Complex and the attacks on the Capitol need to be investigated.”

Much focus is on one video. In it, several protesters inside a Capitol room are regrouping to figure out where to go after their initial success entering the building.

The woman with the bullhorn shouts from just outside through a broken window.

“Hey guys, I’ve been in the other room,” she says. “In the other room on the other side of this door right here where you are standing, there is a glass that somebody, if it’s broken, you can drop down into a room underneath it.”

They knew where to go. Yes, somebody on the inside of those buildings were complicit in this

JAMES CLYBURN Senior Democrat