Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.
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A former Capitol policeman well-versed in his agency’s procedures was mystified by the scene he watched unfold on live television. Larry Schaefer, a 34-year Capitol Police veteran who retired in December 2019, said his former colleagues were experienced in dealing with aggressive crowds.
“It’s not a spur-of-the-moment demonstration that just popped up,” Schaefer said. “We have a planned, known demonstration that has a propensity for violence in the past and threats to carry weapons — why would you not prepare yourself as we have done in the past?”
A spokesperson for the Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent years, federal law enforcement agencies have stepped up their focus on far-right groups, resulting in a spate of arrests. In October, the FBI arrested a group of Michigan extremists and charged them with plotting to kidnap the state’s governor. On Monday, Washington police arrested Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys, on charges of burning a Black Lives Matter banner.
The warnings of Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol were everywhere — perhaps not entirely specific about the planned time and exact location of an assault on the Capitol, but enough to clue in law enforcement about the potential for civil unrest.
On Dec. 12, a poster on the website MyMilitia.com urged violence if senators made official the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
“If this does not change, then I advocate, Revolution and adherence to the rules of war,” wrote someone identifying themselves as I3DI. “I say, take the hill or die trying.”
Wrote another person: “It’s already apparent that literally millions of Americans are on the verge of activating their Second Amendment duty to defeat tyranny and save the republic.
On June 2 — the day of the primary election in Washington — law enforcement officers appeared on every corner, heavily armed in fatigues and body armor. Humvees blocked intersections. Buses full of troops deployed into military columns and marshaled in front of the Lincoln Memorial in a raw show of force. Police kettled protesters in alleys. Choppers thudded overhead for days and sank low enough over protesters to generate gale-force winds.
The question of how law enforcement and the national security establishment failed so spectacularly will likely be the subject of intense focus in coming days.
David Carter, director of the Intelligence Program at Michigan State University, said that sometimes, the best intelligence in the world doesn’t translate into adequate preparedness. Perhaps the security officials responsible for protecting the Capitol simply could not envision that a crowd of Americans would charge through a police line and shatter the glass windows that stood as the only physical barrier to entering the building.
The easily overpowered police force guarding the Capitol on Wednesday posed a stark contrast to the tactics deployed by local police during this summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. Then, the city felt besieged by law enforcement.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k I didn’t see it when it happened, but following up this morning and this evening, that is one thing that surprised me.
One of the most powerful buildings in the most powerful city in the most powerful country in the world, and they knew there was going to be a big demonstration on that day. It has been announced leading up to it.
It is very surprising that they were not better prepared from a security point to deal with it.
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@taiwan_girl said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
It is very surprising that they were not better prepared from a security point to deal with it.
Exactly. They were prepared during the primaries, during the other riots that occurred in DC.
Why was this different?
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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As a said before this was entirely foreseeable and preventable. Like a stampede in a stadium. It’s almost criminal for who is responsible. It’s so bad it needs to be investigated to see if direction was given from above to stand down, low profile, compromise standard procedures. I am not saying that is what happened but yesterday should have never ever happened the way it did.
And the pictures are ridiculous. I guess they fit the category of domestic terorists but they look as much like selfies in high places as anything else.
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@george-k said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
@taiwan_girl said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
It is very surprising that they were not better prepared from a security point to deal with it.
Exactly. They were prepared during the primaries, during the other riots that occurred in DC.
Why was this different?
Because they needed the optics?
Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
@jolly said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
@george-k said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
@taiwan_girl said in Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.:
It is very surprising that they were not better prepared from a security point to deal with it.
Exactly. They were prepared during the primaries, during the other riots that occurred in DC.
Why was this different?
Because they needed the optics?
You think President Trump minimized security so that the US would see how frustrated people were about the vote?
I am not a fan of President Trump but I seriously doubt that.
I think it was just poor planning and underestimate of what would happen.
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It’s either a total breakdown of security or orders from on high. Both need to be investigated and the truth will come out. We can speculate all day long and we will but we will absolutely find out and regardless people will be fired.
What happened yesterday was gross, shameful and needless.
