Capitol Police Inspector General's Testimony Highlights Glaring Failures
Third Installment of Document Sourcebook Features Internal DHS Records Warning of Potential Violence, Testimony from D.C. National Guard Commanding General
Washington, D.C. - May 4, 2021 - Some United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers could not access their shields during the January 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol because the equipment was locked on a bus. Others had access to their shields, but, because they had been stored in a trailer without climate control, they shattered on impact.
These were just a few of the revelations made during USCP Inspector General Michael Bolton’s April 15 testimony before the House Administration Committee. His testimony is especially alarming considering the USCP’s own January 3 intelligence assessment stating that, “Unlike previous postelection protests, the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counterprotesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself.”
Bolton also testified that USCP leadership:
Ordered officers on January 6 to use “heavier less-lethal weapons” out of concern that “they could potentially cause life-altering injury and/or death, if they were misused in any way;” Did not ensure that recruits had the required hours of civil disturbance training; Maintained outdated munitions; Failed to complete required audits; And tolerated a culture within the Civil Disturbance Unit that decreased “operational readiness.”
Bolton’s testimony is among the documents posted today in the National Security Archive’s third "January 6 Sourcebook." Other highlights include:
More:
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/foia/2021-05-04/capitol-riot-documents-you-should-read-part-3?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=ab7d4847-4a06-42f5-9c38-1d5b3431fa43
