SCOOP: @BuzzFeedNews & I obtained the six closely guarded protest permits Capitol Police approved for Jan 6, including one that was a proxy for Stop the Steal and linked to its organizer Ali Alexander.

Rare insight into the secretive police force's ops
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
On Dec 21, a group called One Nation Under God filed an application with the Capitol Police’s special events section to stage a protest over “election fraud in swing states” at the Senate East Front grassy area on Jan. 6 between 9:00 am & 6 pm

One problem: the group didn't exist
But on Jan 4, the Capitol Police chief & and its top intel officer personally approved that permit & six others for demonstrations to be held on Jan. 6, 2021, despite signs that five of them were a proxy for a group staging large, violent protests across the country.
Despite those concerns, and COVID-19 policies that capped demonstrations at 50 people each, one of Capitol Police force’s intelligence assessments said there were “no plans for participants to enter the buildings” and noted “no adverse intelligence related to the upcoming event.”
Capitol Police documented concerns that organizers had attempted to conceal their affiliation with Ali Alexander, the right-wing activist behind the group Stop the Steal, in a secret effort to coordinate their protests against the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The officer who reviewed the application noticed some irregularities. For one thing, the officer wrote in an intelligence assessment, “One Nation Under God is not an organization and does not maintain social media accounts or webpages.”
For another, one of the people listed as a confirmed speaker was Alexander, a leader of Stop the Steal, which was planning a major rally at Freedom Plaza that same day.
“I explained,” the officer wrote, “that it appears that the Stop the Steal and the One Nation Under God is one in the same due to the similarities and the affiliation with Ali Alexander.”

Still, One Nation Under God got the green light.
These documents we obtained shed new light on what Capitol Police knew about threats to the Capitol leading up to the Jan 6 insurrection and provide rare insight into the operations of the Capitol Police, which, as an arm of Congress, is not subject to Freedom of Information laws

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More from @JasonLeopold

10 Sep
Capitol Police green lit a permit to a non existent group called One Nation Under God (linked to Stop the Steal & Ali Alexander) to protest on Capitol grounds Jan 6. One Nation Under God said Reps Brooks & Biggs were confirmed speakers. Here are others

1/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
Clay Mills, a spokesperson for Brooks, told BuzzFeed News the lawmaker had no plans to speak at the One Nation Under God event at the Capitol and that he never heard of One Nation Under God. But Brooks did speak at Freedom Plaza less than 2 miles away

2/
The person listed as one of the organizers on the One Nation of God permit application to hold a protest at the Capitol is Nathan Martin, a city councilman in Shelby, Ohio.

3/
Read 7 tweets
9 Sep
BIG NEWS: Capitol Police is not subject to #FOIA so in Feb @BuzzFeedNews & I w/our atty @_LightLaw leading the charge sued the police for docs about Jan 6 citing the common law right of access and WE WON!

This is a significant legal victory

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
Jeffrey Light: “To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that a lawsuit brought under the common law right of access has been successful as applied to a congressional agency." ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Here, from the Jan 6 permits we successfully pried loose out of the Capitol Police
Read 4 tweets
7 Sep
Congratulations to my #FinCENFiles at @BuzzFeedNews & @ICIJorg for being named finalists for the @LoebAwards!

This is really bittersweet as our source who made this series & its global impact possible, Natalie May Edwards, & just reported to prison Friday
If you'd like to support May and her family please donate to this fundraiser

gofundme.com/f/treasury-whi…
Natalie May Edwards: “I did this for the American people. My motive was accountability, and the American people had a right to know what was occurring within Treasury and that it was a national security issue and that American lives were in jeopardy.”
buzzfeednews.com/article/davidm…
Read 4 tweets
3 Sep
In a wide-ranging intv w/@davidmackau before she reported to prison, whistleblower Natalie May Edwards, the source behind our #FinCENFiles investigation & other stories, said she's "absolutely proud of what I did and I know American lives have been saved”
buzzfeednews.com/article/davidm…
Natalie May Edwards told @davidmackau: “I did this for the American people. My motive was accountability, and the American people had a right to know what was occurring within Treasury and that it was a national security issue and that American lives were in jeopardy.”
To support Natalie May Edwards and her family, please consider contributing to her fundraiser.

gofundme.com/f/treasury-whi…
Read 4 tweets
3 Sep
This morning, Natalie May Edwards, a Treasury Dept whistleblower & one of the bravest humans I know, reports to federal prison in W. Virginia to begin her 6 month sentence

May was the source behind our global #FinCENFiles investigation, which we published a year ago this month Image
May told the judge at her sentencing hearing in June she had taken an oath to protect the American people and “could not stand by aimlessly” when she saw corruption.

Her disclosures and her sacrifice helped change laws in the US and around the world. She is a hero.
Please show May and her family your support for the sacrifices she has made and consider donating to this fundraiser set up for her by @Winter
gofundme.com/f/treasury-whi…
Read 4 tweets
1 Sep
NEW: It's that time of the month again. Here are 359 pages of FBI intv summaries from the Mueller probe, released in response to my/@BuzzFeedNews and CNN's #FOIA lawsuit. This is all Rick Gates. It's the 17th release. We've pried loose more than 8K pages

documentcloud.org/documents/2105…
Some of the information in these FBI interview summaries is still being withheld due to ongoing law enforcement investigations.
The FBI and DOJ still owe us a huge cache of records from the Mueller probe that they will continue to release to us every month. Thanks to @mvtopic @jloevy and team for continuing to wage this long running transparency battle for us.
Read 4 tweets

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