us-capitol-police-watchdog-issues-scathing-report-on-january-6-failures

US Capitol Police watchdog issues scathing report on January 6 failures

Politics

Washington (CNN)The United States Capitol Police’s Inspector General has issued a scathing preliminary report about the department’s “deficiencies” leading up to the January 6 riot that left five people dead and nearly 140 law enforcement officers injured.

A source familiar with the report told CNN that Inspector General Michael Bolton found that the department failed to send out intelligence the agency possessed as early as December 30 suggesting January 6 protestors may have been “inclined to become violent,” adding that the department did not prepare a detailed plan directing all aspects of Capitol Police force.

“UCSP did not prepare a comprehensive, Department-wide plan for demonstrations planned for January 6, 2021,” Bolton wrote, according to the source familiar with the report, which is one of several fast-tracked reports about the insurrection.

    CBS News was first to report the details of the watchdog’s findings.

      Bolton also criticized the department for failing to pass along information from others, such as the now-widely reported FBI Norfolk memo that warned for potential violence and a “war” at the Capitol that was disseminated on January 5. According to the report, a Capitol Police intelligence officer sent the email around internally.

        Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and Acting Police Chief Yogananda Pittman testified the memo never reached the department’s top ranks.

        Bolton’s report noted even the intelligence that Capitol Police used to prepare was rife with conflicting conclusions — an observation Acting House Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett noted in a recent hearing about failures by Hill security officials.

          Some of the intelligence shared within USCP concluded the chances of civil disobedience and arrests related to the January 6 protest were improbable, despite another assessment that pointed out the anger and frustration among protestors could lead to violence targeted toward Congress.

            These initial reports are preliminary, but they are the most substantive and credentialed review into the events of January 6 to date, a congressional source familiar with the documents told CNN on Wednesday. They include a series of findings and recommendations but they are not the IG’s final report on the matter, the source added.

            House Defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman Tim Ryan said in a statement Wednesday that he had reviewed the report and was looking into the possibility of his committee holding a hearing. “I appreciate IG [Michael] Bolton undertaking this valuable and extensive report,” the Ohio Democrat said.