United States Capitol Police

“ I believe it says, "a police department QRF"?
A Yes. At that point we were just kind of wrapping up the call, saying, okay, does anyone else think we need anything else? Is there something we're missing? Are there any holes? And so on.
And people were just sort of chiming in. We were spitballing at this point. Do the police departments need a QRF, a quick reaction force? And then some chimed in and said, no, they all have QRFs, of course they do. This is not some small county police department. It's the Metro PD. It's the Capitol Police. They know what they're doing. ”

“ So in terms of any criminal investigations that might arise from whatever happens on the 6th, we would conduct those criminal investigations and the prosecutions.
The last bucket is street operations. And the DAG was very clear on this: We do not do street operations. We do not have police officers to man the streets of Washington, D.C. That's the Metro Police.
With regard to the specific facilities, like the Capitol, that's the Capitol Police. At the monuments, it's the Park Police. ”

“ The destruction and violence at the United States Capitol was the first occasion that the defenses of the United States Capitol have been breached since the War of 1812; led to multiple deaths, including that of a United States Capitol Police officer; injured numerous others; desecrated the United States Capitol; resulted in property destruction; threatened the lives and safety of those who are entrusted with carrying out the will of the American people ”

“ And, when we got to the rotunda and we met with that Capitol Police officer, and I said, "This is what we have available, what do you need," and he made his requests, he said: National Guard is coming too, but when they get here, we're going to put them on the perimeter, free up some of our guys. ”

“ Outside the Capitol, law enforcement pushed the mob from the upper West Plaza towards the East Plaza, crossing the north doors. Eventually, these rioters were forced to exit the Capitol grounds on the east side. The last point where rioters were removed was the lower West Plaza—the scene of some of the most intense hand-to-hand fighting that day. After law enforcement cleared the tunnel, where violence had raged for hours, police officers corralled rioters to the west and away from the Capitol building. ”

“ As the Capitol Police rushed Members of Congress and staff to safety, that simple and, in context, sensible warning stuck with me. On January 6, 2021, my colleagues and I came to work with the intent of fulfilling our oaths of office and constitutional duty to carry out the peaceful transfer of power. We were the people's representatives in the people's House doing the people's business. Sadly, on that day, the danger was too great for our work to continue and for us to remain in the Capitol. It was too dangerous to be identified as a representative of the American people. ”

“ A perimeter security line of Metropolitan Police intended to secure the Capitol against intrusion broke in the face of thousands of armed rioters – more than two thousand of whom gained access to the interior of the Capitol building. [456] A woman who attempted to forcibly enter the Chamber of the House of Representatives through a broken window while the House was in session was shot and killed by police guarding the chamber. Vice President Pence and his family were at risk, as were those Secret Service professionals protecting him. ”

“ The north doors have an outer entranceway that is separated by a vestibule from a set of inner doors that lead directly into the Capitol. Rioters threw bricks at the doors and forcefully tried to stop police officers from clearing the area. [239] Law enforcement officers briefly opened the inner doors to spray a chemical irritant that was intended to disperse the mob. [240] But the rioters continued to fight. For instance, as the crowd held the outer doors open, John Thomas Gordon of West Virginia repeatedly threw a heavy projectile at the inner doors, while swearing at the officers. ”

“ We certainly had no authority over the Capitol Police, who reported up to the legislature. We had no authority over Metro P.D., who reported up to the city officials in D.C.
So the problem was, you have this fractured authority and jurisdiction in D.C. so that no one, no one agency, could be in charge of the operation.
I understood from General Milley's perspective why he wanted that, because, within the military operation, you always have unity of command. There's always one person in charge, and everyone falls in line behind that one commander. ”

“ After authorization at 3:04 p.m., Secretary McCarthy said he gave Major General Walker a call. He told him to " [m] obilize the entire Guard, bring everybody in. . . . And I said, you know, move the QRF to the armory and get as many people as you can to the armory and configure them in a minimum of riot gear and batons. And then we're going to do a mission analysis of what we need to do with the police . . . ." [304] Major General Walker "categorically denies" that any such call took place. [305] In fact, Major General Walker said the two men did not talk at all until much later that night. ”

“ Nor did law enforcement anticipate that President Trump would refuse to direct his supporters to leave the Capitol once violence began. No intelligence community advance analysis predicted exactly how President Trump would behave; no such analysis recognized the full scale and extent of the threat to the Capitol on January 6th. Hundreds of Capitol and DC Metropolitan police officers performed their duties bravely on January 6th, and America owes those individual immense gratitude for their courage in the defense of Congress and our Constitution. ”

“ I think I spoke to Don Washington, too, saying, get your guys ready. If the Capitol Police need help, we're sending help right away.
And they had previously—we had previously made clear to them that if they're asked for assistance, they should just deploy. They didn't need permission from me or the AG or anyone else. If a partner asks for help, just send your guys.
So there were some phone calls between the SIOC and WFO. When I got to WFO, I went inside. People were in the main command room. There were lots of different partners there. ”

“ Just after 1:00 p.m., Vice President Pence, serving as President of the Senate under Article I of the Constitution, gaveled the Congress into its Joint Session. President Trump was giving a speech at the Ellipse, which he concluded at 1:10 pm. For the next few hours, an attack on our Capitol occurred, perpetrated by Trump supporters many of whom were present at the Ellipse for President Trump’s speech. More than 140 Capitol and Metropolitan police were injured, some very seriously. ”

“ Within an hour, she was advised by her staff that " [t] here is no talk about any credible threats or storming the Capitol." That same day, representatives from DHS, FBI, HSEMA, Secret Service, DC Police, and Capitol Police shared notice of a website, Red State Secession, that urged its visitors to post the home and work addresses of Democratic Members of Congress and “political enemies” under the title, “Why the Second American Revolution Starts Jan 6.” [39] It asked for their routes to and from the January 6th congressional certification because “the crowd will be looking for enemies.” ”

“ Given CHA's oversight of the Capitol Police, this was "an opportunity for the chair of the committee to hear from the security professionals on the security plan." [116] Chair Lofgren's staff director described it as a "topline" briefing that covered various aspects of the security plan, including Chief Sund's direction of "all hands on deck," his focus on the prospect of counter protesters, as well as Chair Lofgren's concern that Members of Congress speaking at the Ellipse that day could incite protesters. ”

“ Rioters assault police officers at a tunnel to the Capitol.
Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images One of the most brutal attacks of the day occurred outside the tunnel when rioters dragged MPD Officer Michael Fanone into the crowd, and then tased, beat, and robbed him while a Blue Lives Matter flag fluttered above him. Albuquerque Head, a rioter from Tennessee, grabbed Officer Fanone around the neck and pulled him into the mob. ”

“ The FBI's special agent in charge of the intelligence division at the Washington Field Office, Jennifer Moore, pointed out that there was nothing illegal about discussing the tunnels. Without a very specific discussion of violence, it was a matter of ensuring that the appropriate law enforcement partner agencies were aware of the uptick, ensuring that the Capitol Police were aware. [15] "People's First Amendment rights, obviously, are protected. ”

“ After breaking through the police line in the Crypt, the mob pursued USCP officers as they retreated to the U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center (CVC) . Pruitt was among the rioters who advanced into the CVC, where he came close to Senator Chuck Schumer. ”

“ Civilians also tipped off Capitol Police about people bringing weapons to besiege the Capitol. One tipster, who had "track [ed] online far right extremism for years," emailed Capitol Police warning "I've seen countless tweets from Trump supporters saying they will be armed," and "I ['] ve also seen tweets from people organizing to 'storm the Capitol' on January 6th." ”

“ On December 26, 2020, the Secret Service received a tip about the Proud Boys detailing plans to have "a large enough group to march into DC armed [that] will outnumber the police so they can't be stopped." [380] "Their plan is to literally kill people," the informant stated. "Please please take this tip seriously ..." [381] On December 29, 2020, Secret Service forwarded related warnings to Capitol Police that pro-Trump demonstrators were being urged to "occupy federal building [s] ," including "march [ing] into the capital building and mak [ing] them quake in their shoes by our mere presence." ”

“ Irving, however, remembers Chief Sund calling him to say the DC National Guard had offered 125 unarmed National Guardsmen to the USCP and MPD. [72] He also remembered that, during a conference call, Chief Sund told Stenger and him that the National Guard would be utilized in similar fashion to the assistance provided to the DC police, namely, staffing intersections, and for traffic control to free up officers, but then could be used for crowd control, although he acknowledged that the Capitol campus does not have many intersections in need of staffing. ”

“ Another understood the President's tweet to be urging his supporters to come to Washington "armed." [22] Others were to the same effect ("there is not enough cops in DC to stop what is coming," [23] "make sure they know who to fear," [24] and "waiting for Trump to say the word" [25] ) .
By December 28th, that compilation had reached the newly installed head of the Capitol Police intelligence unit, Jack Donohue. ”

“ Vice President Pence said. "But thanks to the swift efforts of U.S. Capitol Police,
A non-free image has been removed from this page.
Photo provided to the Select Committee by the National Archives and Records Administration. federal, state and local law enforcement, the violence was quelled. The Capitol is secured, and the people’s work continues.” The Vice President addressed “those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today,” saying “you did not win.” Vice President Pence continued:
Violence never wins. ”

“ Samsel subsequently claimed that Biggs encouraged him to push through the barricades and, when Samsel hesitated to follow through, Biggs "flashed a gun, questioned his manhood and repeated his demand" to move to the front and "challenge the police." ”

“ Millions gathered in our capital [sic] . There were no barricades strong enough to stop them, nor the police determined enough to stop them. Police and Military aligned with the people after few hours of fist-fight [sic] . ”

“ As the crowd moved through the Capitol, they chanted "Fight for Trump" and "Stop the Steal!" They also chanted "Nancy, Nancy" as they searched for Speaker Pelosi. [245] At 2:18 p.m., the House went into recess as hundreds of rioters confronted USCP officers inside the Crypt, which is a short distance from the first breach point. [246]
USCP officers formed a line across the Crypt in an attempt to stop the mob's advance. [247] By 2:21 p.m., the rioters had tried to break through police lines, but they were temporarily unsuccessful. ”

“ Rosen said, no, it would not take on the lead?
A No.
Q Okay. So, later—is there anything you want to add about that call that you had on January 3rd?
A No. Just, as you can see from the notes, we discussed the, sort of, key locations—the Capitol, Lafayette Square, Washington Monument, Freedom Plaza.
We talked about who had responsibility for which of those key areas. So, for instance, the Park Police had the monuments. Capitol Police had the Capitol. FPS had the various Federal buildings. We had DOJ. MPD had the city overall for all the areas that were not covered by someone else. ”

“ It made it clear to us that the Mayor didn't want our Federal assistance or involvement. But the reality was we had already prepared.
We certainly weren't going to be sending people home. We had our own independent responsibility and authority. And we were going to continue our plans to have our people in reserve in case they were needed by our partner.
So it didn't really impact what we were doing.
Q So before we start with the events of January 6th, going into that day, did DOJ have points of contacts with Capitol Police, Park Police, MPD, or was it all coordinated through the SIOC? ”