Senate report: Feds’ failures led to Jan. 6
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday released a scathing report that detailed how the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies repeatedly ignored, downplayed or failed to share warnings of violence before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The 106-page report, titled “Planned in Plain Sight,” highlighted and added to evidence already uncovered by the nowdefunct House Jan. 6 committee, news reporting and other congressional work to provide the most comprehensive picture to date of a cascading set of security and intelligence failures that culminated in the deadliest assault on the Capitol in centuries.
Aides said Senate staff obtained thousands of additional documents from federal law enforcement agencies, including the Justice Department, before
drafting the report. It includes multiple calls for armed violence, calls to occupy federal buildings including the Capitol and some of the clearest threats the FBI received but did little about — including a warning that the far-right group the Proud Boys was planning to kill people in Washington.
“Our intelligence agencies completely dropped the ball,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the chair of the Homeland Security Committee.
The report determined the FBI’s monitoring of social media threats was “degraded mere days before the attack,” because the bureau changed contracts for third-party social media monitoring.
But the investigation made clear that monitoring was not the only issue. It faulted the FBI for failing to act on an array of dire warnings.
Still, the report highlighted interviews with two FBI leaders who said they were unaware that Congress could come under siege.
A representative for the FBI said it had been working with law enforcement agencies, including the Capitol Police, in the lead-up to and on the day of Jan. 6: “We also set up command posts and had tactical assets ready to deploy should our partners request such assistance.”
The agency added that after the attack it increased its focus on “swift information sharing” with law enforcement partners, and that it also “made improvements to assist investigators and analysts in all of our field offices throughout the investigative process.”
A representative for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency “has strengthened intelligence analysis, information sharing and operational preparedness to help prevent acts of violence and keep our communities safe” since the attack.