Perpetrators “Ready for War”: Capitol Police blame secret services

Tuesday 23 February 2021

The perpetrators are “ready for war”
The Capitol police blame the secret services

Trump supporters storm the Washington Capitol on January 6. The US Senate is now investigating how this happened. Now high-ranking security officers testify and point fingers at the secret services.

Former Capitol Police Chief Stephen Sund blamed a lack of intelligence for the security disaster in the attack on Congress headquarters in early January. Sund said at a US Senate hearing that the intelligence did not predict in any way what would happen on January 6. His team had prepared for a large demonstration with the potential for violence. Instead, it was a “coordinated military attack” and a “violent takeover of the Capitol.” Sund confirmed that the police rely on information from the intelligence service. “We rely on this information to be completely correct.”

“No agency, including the FBI, has provided any intelligence that there will be a coordinated violent attack on the US Capitol by thousands of armed and well-equipped insurgents. Compared to the radical backers of then-President Donald Trump, the number of his officials,” Sund said. They are clearly outnumbered. “

“They had weapons, chemical munitions, explosive devices, shields and protective vests,” said Sanad, who retreated after the attack on the parliament building. These criminals were ready for war. ”

‘Coordinated attack’

Other high-ranking security officials also complained to Congress at a Senate hearing that the intelligence agencies had failed to do so. Former House security official Paul Irving said the events were expected to resemble previous rallies of supporters of US President Donald Trump. He relied on it. Irving said while the intelligence services warned of a “risk of violence” that could also target Congress. The possibility of a “coordinated attack” was never mentioned.

“Based on the intelligence we had, I wrongly thought we were ready,” Irving said. “We now know we have a wrong plan.”

Security officials also complained that the National Guard was too slow to intervene and that it took hours to arrive. Washington Police Chief Robert Conte said he was “stunned” by the Department of Defense “reluctance” to send in the National Guard. His police officers “fought for their lives”.

Sund testified that when asked by the National Guard, a senior military representative said, “I don’t like the image of the National Guard that is lining up in front of the Capitol.”

Mess in the Capitol

Supporters of the departing and elected president stormed the Capitol in early January during a congressional session, causing havoc and chaos. The security forces in Parliament were not up to the attack. At least five people were killed in the riots, including a police officer.

Sund, Irving, and the then senior Senate security officer, Michael Stinger, resigned from their posts after the attack, facing severe criticism that the US parliamentary seat could be bypassed in this way. Police in the US capital, Washington, DC, rushed to assist Congressional security that day.