Capitol Police reveal intelligence on new militant plot targeting D.C.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol Police said Wednesday that they have information regarding a possible plot by a militant group to breach the Capitol on Thursday, a date that some followers of the Qanon extremist ideology falsely claim will mark former President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The department declined to name the militia group or provide additional details, citing the “sensitive nature” of the information. In a statement, the department said it is “prepared for any potential threats.”
In response, the House canceled a scheduled Thursday session, instead wrapping up planned votes late Wednesday. The Senate, considering President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, planned to remain in session Thursday. Members and staff were encouraged to take precautions such as parking in underground garages.
“We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers,” police said in the statement.
Earlier Wednesday, senators heard disturbing testimony from Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, about the response to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
Walker told senators that the then-chief of the Capitol Police requested military support in a “voice cracking with emotion” in a 1:49 p.m. call as rioters began pushing toward the Capitol.
Walker said he immediately relayed the request to the Army but didn’t learn until 5:08 p.m. that the Defense Department had approved it. Guard troops who had been waiting on buses were then rushed to the Capitol, arriving in 18 minutes, Walker said.
The hourslong delay cost the National Guard precious minutes in the early hours of the rioting, with Walker saying he could have gotten personnel into the building within 20 minutes of getting approval. But the support didn’t happen until the evening.
The delay also stood in contrast to the swift authorization for National Guard support that Walker said was granted in response to the civil unrest that roiled Washington last June as an outgrowth of racial justice protests.
A senior Pentagon official who testified, Robert Salesses, said it took time for the Army to sort out what the National Guard was being asked to do and what its support might look like, especially since the Capitol Police days earlier hadn’t asked for any help.
Mindful of criticism that the response to the demonstrations last spring was heavy-handed, military officials also were concerned about the optics of a substantial National Guard presence at the Capitol, and that such visuals could inflame the rioters, Walker said.
“The Army senior leadership” expressed “that it would not be their best military advice to have uniformed Guardsmen on the Capitol,” Walker said.
The Senate hearing is the latest about the missed intelligence and botched efforts to quickly gather National Guard troops as a mob of then-president Donald Trump’s supporters laid siege to the Capitol.
Taken together, the hearings have spelled out the challenge law enforcement officials face in sorting through an ocean of unverified tips but also highlighted how police inadequately prepared for the Trump loyalists; that FBI warnings about the threat of violence didn’t reach top police officials; and that requests for aid weren’t promptly answered.
“We in the FBI want to bat 1.000, and we want to not have this ever happen again,” said Jill Sanborn, the bureau’s top counterterrorism official and one of the witnesses. “So we’re asking ourselves exactly the questions that you’re asking: Is there a place we could have collected more (intelligence)? Is there something we could have done?” The Associated Press contributed
to this report.
“It shouldn’t take three hours to get a yes or no answer.” Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard