This is an *incredible* piece of journalism that takes you through the route of the mob with maps and detailed explanations and timelines. Well worth checking out.
https://twitter.com/bellingcat/status/1347426236218400769
(PS) What the maps underscore is that the mob had a very specific purpose—they were trying to get to the House chamber to block the joint session of Congress. They met greater and greater resistance, in terms of both armed forces and barricades, the closer they got to their goal.
(PS2) After the mob had partially destroyed the barricade protecting the Speaker's Lobby, Babbitt, a former soldier, tried to be the first into the breach. Her intrusion, if permitted to stand, would"ve flooded the Speaker's Lobby and brought the mob quickly onto the House floor.
(PS3) The mob was armed, had already done violence, and had already overwhelmed innumerable security checkpoints. We now know some planned to take hostages. I don't know how many unarmed legislators were hiding in the House chamber when Babbitt was shot; I suspect quite a few.
(PS4) We know the protesters were *aware* that they were an entering a heavily protected, secure area where federal law enforcement had guns drawn, as you can hear one of the attackers look through the barricade and yell about "GUNS!" less than 30 seconds before Babbitt is shot.
(PS5) Keep in mind, officers were in constant contact with one another. They likely would've known the Vice President was being hunted. They may have known of the hostage plot. They would've known the mob had guns and lead pipes. The Speaker's Lobby was the last line of defense.
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