Concealed Information Could Have Crippled Response to Capitol Attack
Several days before the Capitol attack on January 6, two top executives at the Capitol police received important intelligence, but failed to handle them properly.
-
The Capitol attack
A former Capitol police senior official accused two of the department’s top officials of failing to properly communicate vital intelligence a few days before the Capitol attack on January 6.
In a letter to Congress, the former official claims that Assistant Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman and Acting Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher received an intelligence report on December 21, which included information about a potential riot similar to a report that the FBI later provided to the department on January 5.
In the 16-page letter, the former official claims that Pittman and Gallagher never shared the intelligence report with other department officials or used it to update the security assessments for the Capitol Police officers.
The former official alleges that the information could have “changed the paradigm of that day” and “would have provided the documentation needed to support securing the National Guard and other allied agency manpower for January 6th.”
The Capitol attack
On January 6, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, aiming to suspend the counting of electoral college votes affirming President Biden’s win.
The attack resulted in four deaths and an officer, Brian D. Sicknick, who was sprayed with a powerful chemical irritant, suffered a stroke and died the following day.
