Chief in charge of intel before Capitol riot returns to post
WASHINGTON — Yogananda Pittman, the Capitol Police official who led intelligence operations when thousands of pro-trump rioters descended Jan. 6, is back in charge of intelligence as officials prepare for what’s expected to be a massive rally at the Capitol to support those who took part in the insurrection.
Pittman — elevated to acting chief after then-chief Steven Sund was forced to resign in the aftermath of the deadly insurrection — was passed over last month for the role of permanent chief. The Capitol Police Board, which oversees the force, instead picked J. Thomas Manger, the former chief of the police departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland.
Pittman’s tenure as assistant chief was marred by a vote of no-confidence from rank-and-file officers on the force and questions about intelligence and leadership failures — specifically, why the agency wasn’t prepared to fend off a mob of insurrectionists, even though officials had compiled intelligence showing white supremacists and other extremists were likely to assemble in Washington on Jan. 6 and that violent disruptions were possible.
But more than six months after the riot, Pittman has been put back in charge as assistant chief of the agency’s intelligence operations and supervising officers who protect top congressional leaders.
Police officials in Washington are increasingly concerned about a rally planned for Sept. 18 on federal land next to the Capitol that organizers have said is meant to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people who have already been charged in connection with January’s insurrection. Organizers of the event, known as “Justice for J6,” have said the event will be peaceful but law enforcement officials fear such an event with thousands of people could devolve quickly into violence.
As the temporary public face of the department, Pittman conceded to Congress at a February hearing that multiple levels of failures allowed pro-trump rioters to storm the building but disputed the notion that law enforcement had failed to take the threat seriously.