McConnell’s security detail rushed past and into the chamber. The adviser began walking toward the Rotunda and came face to face with a U.S. Capitol Police officer sprinting in the opposite direction. The two made eye contact and the officer forced out a single word: “Run!”
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The screaming and shouting soon seemed right outside. Only then, a text alert from Capitol police blared on every phone in the room: “Due to security threat inside: immediately, move inside your office, take emergency equipment, lock the doors, take shelter.”
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In waves, the door to the hall heaved as rioters punched and kicked it. The crowd yelled “Stop the steal!” Some chanted menacingly, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?”
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Peering out a window into a courtyard below, the adviser could see scores of people still streaming in — and no police in sight.
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The McConnell adviser reached out to former top officials at the Justice Department.
Speaking in a whisper, he told one the situation was dire: If backup did not arrive soon, people could die.
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Speaking in a whisper, he told one the situation was dire: If backup did not arrive soon, people could die.
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The drumbeat:
“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted. “Be there, will be wild!”
“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted. “Be there, will be wild!”
Aides to McConnell along with their Dem counterparts, asked for briefings with Michael Stenger, the Senate sergeant at arms. They also met with Sund, the Capitol police chief, who had previously been a D.C. police commander
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At a House Caucus mtg before Christmas Rep. Maxine Waters asked where Capitol police would allow people to gather, and if they would be allowed on the Capitol plaza, the brick and paved area immediately around the building that leads to walking paths to the offices of lawmakers.
In an hour-long conversation on NYE Waters said Sund told her he had a plan for keeping protesters far from the building. They would be corralled beyond the plaza, in a grassy area east of the Capitol. If counterprotesters showed up (they didn't), his officers would
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form a line between the two groups, and as a precaution for lawmakers, Capitol security would direct all members of Congress and their staffers to travel by the network of underground tunnels that connect the Capitol with House and Senate office buildings.
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Waters asked Sund what intelligence the force had about how big the gathering would be. Sund, she said, didn’t have a clear answer. She hung up the phone at her home in D.C. thinking, “They don’t know who’s coming. They don’t know whether any of these are violent groups.”
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Rep. Zoe Lofgren the chair of the House Admin Committee that oversees Capitol security said she held a teleconference with Sund and House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving.
The National Park Service, which issued the permit to organizers, had allowed the pro-Trump supporters to
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The National Park Service, which issued the permit to organizers, had allowed the pro-Trump supporters to
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adjust their expected crowd size sixfold, up from 5,000 to 30,000.
Lofgren asked whether Capitol police had enough officers to handle the capacity, and if they had the National Guard on standby and available to quickly help if needed.
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Lofgren asked whether Capitol police had enough officers to handle the capacity, and if they had the National Guard on standby and available to quickly help if needed.
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Sund insisted, yes, they had both bases covered, Lofgren said. Later, in a call with Rep. Tim Ryan he repeated those assertions, Ryan said.
In fact, three days earlier, Capitol police had told the Pentagon that it was not requesting National Guard support for the event.
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In fact, three days earlier, Capitol police had told the Pentagon that it was not requesting National Guard support for the event.
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Sund said Capitol Police had a “robust plan established to address anticipated First Amendment activities.” He acknowledged that the force had not prepared for the violent mob that came instead.
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🚨By around 1 p.m., as the joint session began, the mood in the crowd outside began to shift.
Trump added: “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
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Trump added: “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
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They first reached the west side of the building — several blocks away from the area that Sund had told lawmakers was the designated protest area.
The crowd never stopped advancing.
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The crowd never stopped advancing.
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Before 1:30 p.m., Lofgren heard from staff that a wall of people had been able to push into the iconic Capitol steps on the west side.
Neither Lofgren nor her staff could reach the Capitol police chief on the phone
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Neither Lofgren nor her staff could reach the Capitol police chief on the phone
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Irving, who was in the House chamber, assured Lofgren that things would be fine. Protesters would be kept outside. The doors were all locked, he told her. “Nobody can get in,” (Famous last words)
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A seeming fortress from a distance, the Capitol contains more than 400 separate doors, entryways and ground-level windows. And police lines on all sides of the building were collapsing.
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Waters placed an urgent call to Sund, who was at Capitol police headquarters two blocks away.
“What are you going to do about it?” Waters asked.
“We’re doing the best we can,” came Sund’s reply, and then the line went dead.
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“What are you going to do about it?” Waters asked.
“We’re doing the best we can,” came Sund’s reply, and then the line went dead.
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Waters was unsure if the call had dropped or if Sund hung up. She turned to a staffer: “That’s not a plan.”
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n the other end of the building and a floor below, alarm was growing in the office of Stenger, the head of security for the Senate.
His House colleague, Irving, was placing a call to a law enforcement assoc that can organize mutual aid from county and state police forces in
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His House colleague, Irving, was placing a call to a law enforcement assoc that can organize mutual aid from county and state police forces in
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suburban MD and VA. The request was brand new and it would take an hour or two for any officers to arrive
At that point, Irving began talking about bringing in the National Guard. Two aides realized there was no arrangement to pre-stage military assets to help at the Capitol
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At that point, Irving began talking about bringing in the National Guard. Two aides realized there was no arrangement to pre-stage military assets to help at the Capitol
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In fact, a small quick-reaction force at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland had been assembled by the Defense Department to assist if needed — but it did not immediately respond because of a lack of a prior planning with Capitol police over how it might be deployed
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Outside on the west side of the building, a handful of Capitol police officers had been backed into a corner, under the scaffolding holding up the inaugural stage. One was pulled down a set of stairs and then beaten and kicked while he tried to cover his head
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Atop the stairs, another had his helmet ripped off as he tried to hold up the last remaining metal barrier before the crowd could flood into the building. A person in the mob sprayed something at an officer. Another lifted a hammer above his head as if preparing to throw it
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Shortly before 2 p.m., rioters were on all sides of the building. They waved Trump flags from landings and porticos, while the most violent and those armed with pipes, rocks and other objects trained on the many doors and windows.
(400 entry points folks)
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(400 entry points folks)
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On the second floor, Lofgren could see the mob encircling a landing. She didn’t yet know protesters were inside.
She again turned to Irving — what was going on? He said the National Guard was on its way. (They were not)
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She again turned to Irving — what was going on? He said the National Guard was on its way. (They were not)
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In fact, Sund had just requested National Guard support from the Defense Department. It would be hours before they would arrive.
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At 2:14 p.m., Rep. Gosar had begun his speech objecting to AZ results. As he spoke, Pelosi’s protective detail agents hustled her away.
Moments later, there was yelling in the gallery, as staff and security details started to move around with a heightened sense of alarm.
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Moments later, there was yelling in the gallery, as staff and security details started to move around with a heightened sense of alarm.
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Lawmakers inside were still being evacuated when, around a side entrance, the mob came much closer to breaking their way onto the House floor — less than 10 feet away from an open door into the chamber.
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The intruders ran around the back hallways of the second floor, weaving in and out of the Senate majority leader and House speaker’s adjoining suites, and entering the sanctum of the two most powerful figures in Congress like the halls were their playground.
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Eight Pelosi staffers trapped inside their suite barricaded themselves inside a staff conference room, and huddled together under the table in the middle, hoping that the protesters who had already broken down one door — and were rummaging through materials and shooting
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selfies with their feet up on an executive assistant’s desk — wouldn’t make it any farther inside.
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Calls for help
At 2:11 p.m. on the Senate side, Vice President Pence sat in the chair of the presiding officer when aides started motioning to Sen. Charles E. Grassley that he had to replace him. The vice president hurried out a door.
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At 2:11 p.m. on the Senate side, Vice President Pence sat in the chair of the presiding officer when aides started motioning to Sen. Charles E. Grassley that he had to replace him. The vice president hurried out a door.
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At that moment, one floor below, rioters had crashed through windows and climbed into the Capitol and clashed with police, including a lone Black Capitol police officer who tried to prevent them from ascending toward the Senate chamber.
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For almost a minute, the officer held them back — at the exact moment that, inside the Senate, police were frantically racing around the chamber trying to lock down more than a dozen doors.
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“Second floor!” the officer yelled into his radio, alerting other officers and command that the mob had reached the precipice of the Senate. Had the rioters turned right, they would have been a few feet away from the main entrance into the chamber.
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Instead, the group — all White men — followed the Black officer in the other direction and met a group of police in a back corridor outside the Senate. (That police officer is a hero)
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At 2:16 p.m., Bobic tweeted a photo of a half-dozen police confronting the protesters.
According to the contemporaneous notes of a Washington Post reporter inside the chamber, it was mere seconds of a differential: “2:15 p.m., Senate sealed.”
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According to the contemporaneous notes of a Washington Post reporter inside the chamber, it was mere seconds of a differential: “2:15 p.m., Senate sealed.”
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Back in the barricaded room with McConnell aides, one staffer began snapping photos through a window. They could see Trump supporters streaming toward the building — and just four police officers.
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The senior McConnell adviser reached a lawyer who had just left DOJ: Will Levi, who had served as Attorney General William P. Barr’s chief of staff. They needed help — now, he told Levi.
From his home, Levi immediately called FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, who was in
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From his home, Levi immediately called FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, who was in
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the command center in the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The FBI official had been hearing radio traffic of aggressive protesters pushing through the perimeter, but Levi said it had gone even further: The mob had already crashed the gates and lives were at risk.
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The FBI official had been hearing radio traffic of aggressive protesters pushing through the perimeter, but Levi said it had gone even further: The mob had already crashed the gates and lives were at risk.
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Capitol police had said previously they didn’t need help, but Bowdich decided he couldn’t wait for a formal invitation.
He dispatched the first of three tactical teams, including one from the Washington field office to secure the safety of senators and provide whatever aid
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He dispatched the first of three tactical teams, including one from the Washington field office to secure the safety of senators and provide whatever aid
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they could. He instructed two more SWAT teams to follow, including one that raced from Baltimore.
“Get their asses over there. Go now,” he said to the first team’s commander. “We don’t have time to huddle.”
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“Get their asses over there. Go now,” he said to the first team’s commander. “We don’t have time to huddle.”
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From their secure locations Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer and Chuck Schumer made calls for help to acting AG Jeffrey Rosen, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
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Amid the mayhem, a large group of senators were secretly led to a room in a Senate office building. Stenger was with them, and the furious lawmakers peppered him with questions.
“How does this happen? How does this happen?” demanded Sen. Lindsey O. Graham
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“How does this happen? How does this happen?” demanded Sen. Lindsey O. Graham
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Stenger could not muster much of an answer, practically inaudible as he dispiritedly debriefed the senators. “He was talking in circles,” Graham thought to himself.
Sen. Joe Manchin called Stenger’s attempt to field that question “absolutely pathetic” and further reduced
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Sen. Joe Manchin called Stenger’s attempt to field that question “absolutely pathetic” and further reduced
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confidence in the room. As Graham pressed for a better explanation Stenger’s voice got weaker and smaller.
“Here’s your mission: Take back the Senate” Graham told Stenger. “Whatever you need to do, do it. We’re not leaving this place. We’re not going to be run out by a mob.”
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“Here’s your mission: Take back the Senate” Graham told Stenger. “Whatever you need to do, do it. We’re not leaving this place. We’re not going to be run out by a mob.”
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By 6 p.m., a perimeter around the Capitol was secured.
End/
End/
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