The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 3)

[National Security Archives]
"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• Maintained outdated munitions;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:

• Internal Federal Protective Service documents showing the Department of Homeland Security had ample concern for potential violence on January 6;
• A video showing how the mob took advantage of the USCP’s lack of preparation and attacked USCP officer Brian Sicknick with chemical spray; Sicknick died the following day;
• Testimony from FBI director Christopher Wray stating that “The top threat we face from [Domestic Violent Extremists] continues to be those we identify as Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (“RMVEs”), specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race;”
• Testimony from D.C. National Guard Commanding General William Walker that further highlights the Pentagon’s continued failure to explain its delay in authorizing the use of the D.C. National Guard;
• An Army Investigation Report on the use of extremely low-flying helicopters to disperse crowds that were gathered close to the White House on June 1, 2020, to protest the murder of George Floyd – an incident that contrasts sharply with the DOD’s response to the January 6 attacks;
• And Justice Department charging documents alleging that a “quick reaction force” of Oath Keepers furnished a weapons stockpile in Arlington, VA that was to be brought to the Capitol “if something goes to hell.”

The documents posted today – and throughout the National Security Archive’s systematic FOIA campaign to open the documentary record on the Capitol riot – will serve as an important repository for the public, historians, and members of Congress, especially as hopes dim for a bipartisan, independent commission into the attack similar to the 9/11 Commission..."
Capitol Riot