The FBI insisted on Tuesday that it did warn Capitol Police and other forces about the MAGA mob riot plot after learning about on January 5, after days of silence from the bureau over its failure to prevent it.
On January 5, the FBI’s office in Norfolk, Virginia, blasted an internal memo which cited social media posts talking about spilling the blood of ‘BLM slave soldiers’ on the Capitol.
The memo was obtained by The Washington Post on Tuesday.
It read: ‘As of 5 January 2021, FBI Norfolk received information indicating calls for violence in response to ‘unlawful lockdowns’ to begin on 6 January 2021 in Washington. D.C.
‘An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating “Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled.
‘Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.’
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Steven D’Antuono, the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said agents shared the information on the Joint Terrorism Task Forces communications system within 40 minutes of receiving it. He did not say what time that was or even what day it was.
The Capitol Police, DC Metro Police and Park Police all have access to the JTTS communications system.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Steven D’Antuono (left), the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said agents shared the information on the Joint Terrorism Task Forces communications system within 40 minutes of receiving it, He did not say what time that was or even what day it was. Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin (right) said hundreds would be charged
‘When my office received that information, we briefed that within 40 minutes to our partners.It got ingested into the system and was shared with all our partners through that process that we have. That’s the action that we took on that and that’s it,’ he said.
It’s unclear what else the bureau did to raise the alarm other than post it on the database.
Also at the press conference on Tuesday, Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin said his office would prosecute hundreds of people over their ‘egregious’ conduct at the Capitol.
He said that while the original misdemeanor charges against many of the suspects seem light, he will increase charges as he gathers more evidence and some could put people away for up to 20 years if convicted.
‘As we sit here now, we’ve opened more than 170 subject files meaning these individuals have been identified as potential persons who committed crimes. Of those cases that have been opened, we’ve charged over 70 cases.
‘That number is going to grow into the hundreds. We’re looking at everything from trespass to theft of mail to assault on local officers, theft of potential national security information, felony murder and even civil rights excessive force.
‘The gamut of conduct is mind-blowing. The FBI is working with the US attorney’s office. We’re looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition and conspiracy. Their marching orders are to build seditious and conspiracy cases. Those have prison terms of up to 20 years,’ Sherwin said.
The Post reports that FBI agents in Washington knew about it, despite Steven D’Antuono, the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, telling reporters on a call on Friday there had been ‘no indication’ of the looming bloodshed.
The FBI has not commented on the memo, nor has it given detailed statements about what it did to warn local law enforcement about what was coming.
Christopher A. Wray, the director of the FBI who took over from James Comey in 2017, has not spoken publicly since Wednesday’s riot
The Post reports that there are now ongoing discussions in the bureau about whether leadership racial profile terror suspects because they did not take the threats – that were made almost exclusively by white male Republicans – seriously.
There were vague, anonymously-made claims that agents warned Capitol Police about a plot last week but no firm action was taken.
Instead, fewer than 2,000 Capitol cops were left to fight the mob of some 10,000 – many of whom were armed – with only 340 National Guard to help them and last-minute back up from the DC Metropolitan Police force.
They were immediately outnumbered and overwhelmed.
One cop died in the hospital after being allegedly beaten with a fire extinguisher and another committed suicide.
Now, there are talks that another 4,000 ‘patriots’ are planning to return to the Capitol ahead of Inauguration Day, and there are grave concerns over what is being done to prevent further violence.
A state of emergency was declared last night by Trump in anticipation of more planned protests, including the ‘largest armed protest in American history’.
But FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has said nothing to calm the public about what his agency is doing to stop any future attack from actually happening.
An unidentified police officer is beaten by the mob outside the Capitol last week during the riot
Law enforcement officers pull their weapons on the protesters inside the House chamber on Wednesday after the mob breached the building
HUNT FOR MAGA COP ‘KILLER’
The FBI has released two photos of a suspect they want to question about the murder of US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick during last week’s violent riots.
The first photo shows an older bearded man wearing a blue knit cap with the letters ‘CFD’ stitched on it.
The second photo, which does not show the suspect’s face, appears to be a screengrab from a video in which a man was seen launching a fire extinguisher that struck a Capitol police officer on the head.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the officer in that video was Sicknick, who died on Thursday night after having been hit in the head by a fire extinguisher as he and his colleagues faced off with hundreds of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol the day before.
The FBI has asked anyone who may recognize the man in the photos to contact investigators immediately.
Wray was appointed by Trump in May 2017, shortly after he took office.
He replaced James Comey, who had enraged Trump with his handling of Hillary Clinton’s use of an email server when she was Secretary of State.
Before joining the FBI, Wray worked both as a private practice lawyer and in the Department of Justice. He at one time served as deputy attorney general.
During an interview on Today on Tuesday, Comey fumed that there had been an ‘appalling lack of preparation’ for the riot.
‘It wasn’t a failure of imagination. It was just a failure to see a threat that was in bright daylight, coming at you. I don’t know. It’s going to be really important for there to be some kind of commission to understand what happened here.
‘Not just at the capitol with the Capitol Police, but did they get the information they need?
‘Did they see the threat the way so many other agencies must have seen it?’ he said.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Tuesday apologized for the collaborative lack of preparation that put the Capitol cops and DC Metro cops in grave danger.
‘I am sorry there was a failure in security that put those officers in harm’s way,’ she told Good Morning America, adding there would be ‘very intense questions’ over what went wrong.
According to The Huffington Post, Democrats were last night taken into behind-closed-door talks where they were told what to do in the event of another attack.
On Monday night, the new chiefs of Capitol Police told House Democrats they were looking into three separate plans, including one described as ‘the largest armed protest ever to take place on American soil.’
But the most concerning is said to involve armed rioters encircling the Capitol and blocking Democrats from entering – killing them if necessary – so that Republicans can take command of government.
Another protest is being planned in honor of Ashli Babbitt, the USAF veteran who was shot at point blank range by a police officer as she tried to clamber into the Speaker’s Lobby during the Trump mob’s siege.
‘It was pretty overwhelming,’ one Democrat told Huffington Post of the police briefing.
Meanwhile an FBI internal memo circulated that warned of a group which was calling for the ‘storming’ of state, local and federal government buildings, as well as court houses if Trump is removed from office.
The bulletin came to light just as Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced an article of impeachment accusing Trump of incitement to insurrection, five days after the mob of the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol, leaving five people dead in a futile bid to overturn the general election.
The inauguration ring of steel: 10,000 National Guard troops will close off monuments and patrol anti-climb fences as DC braces for violence after three more Capitol attack plots were uncovered
Tough security measures are being put in place across Washington DC ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, including bringing in at least 15,000 National Guard troops, erecting new anti-climb fences around the Capitol and White House and the closure of national monuments.
The increased security measures are now being implemented earlier than scheduled in the wake of last week’s deadly attack on the US Capitol by violent Trump-supporting rioters.
Tough security measures are being put in place across Washington DC ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, including bringing in at least 15,000 National Guard troops, erecting new anti-climb fences around the Capitol and White House and the closure of national monuments
It comes as Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in DC and authorities revealed three separate plots to attack the Capitol ahead of the inauguration, including one described as the ‘largest armed protest in American history.’
Officials are promising extremely tight security around the entire capital region – some of which is already being put in place. The beefed up security will include increased law enforcement, extra checkpoints, fencing and barricades across the city.
The public is now banned from entering the Capitol grounds and the inauguration will be a ticketed-only event. Anti-climb fences have also now been installed around the Capitol building.
Access to the Washington Monument is also now prohibited for the next two weeks due to ongoing threats. Security fences were also erected outside the Lincoln Memorial on Monday.
Public access to roads, parking areas and restrooms on the National Mall, which is where crowds of supporters usually gather during inaugurations, may be shut down this week if deemed necessary.
NATIONAL GUARD: The National Guard has been authorized to send up to 15,000 troops to Washington to safeguard the capital. At least 10,000 of those troops will be in place by Saturday with the remaining 5,000 on standby. There are already 6,200 troops on the ground in DC in the wake of last week’s MAGA mob violence
It is not yet clear what road closures are being put in place or how far out from the Capitol checkpoints will be set up. Authorities haven’t yet confirmed how close members of the public will actually be able to get to the official event even though they are being asked to stay away given the COVID-19 pandemic.
While next week’s event was already going to be pared down because of COVID-19, authorities say the increased security means Biden’s inauguration will look drastically different to previous ones.
The National Guard has been authorized to send up to 15,000 troops to Washington to safeguard the capital.
At least 10,000 of those troops will be in place by Saturday with the remaining 5,000 on standby.
There are already 6,200 troops on the ground in DC in the wake of last week’s MAGA mob violence.
Plans are still on for a major public art display spanning multiple blocks of the National Mall that will feature 191,500 US flags and 56 pillars of light. The display is meant to symbolize every US state and territory and ‘the American people who are unable to travel’ to the capital to celebrate given COVID restrictions.
The inauguration is being held at the same spot at the US Capitol where the violent MAGA mob rioters overran law enforcement last week and stormed the federal building.
US Secret Service special agent in charge Michael Plati, who is leading the inauguration security, insists such security breaches won’t occur at the January 20 inauguration.
Some of the heightened security measures will be obvious: officers in uniforms, checkpoints, metal detectors and fencing.
US CAPITOL: The public is now banned from entering the Capitol grounds and the inauguration will be a ticketed-only event. Members of the National Guard stand inside an anti-scaling fencing that now surrounds the Capitol
But he says some won’t be so obvious.
While law enforcement never go into too much detail about security so would-be attackers aren’t tipped off, Plati said they’ve taken into account the siege.
‘It’s a poignant reminder of what can happen.’
Plati said last week’s Capitol siege and the inauguration aren’t even comparable from a security standpoint.
The inauguration is designated as a ‘national special security event,’ which clears the way for communication, funding and preparation between multiple agencies in Washington, like the Capitol Police, Pentagon, Homeland Security and District-area police.
Other such events are the State of the Union, the Super Bowl and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
Last week’s rally turned violent siege was viewed as a free speech event in the days before, despite multiple warnings about the potential for violence from right-wing extremist groups.
Egged on by Trump, the violent mob marched from the White House to the Capitol, where they occupied the building for hours to try to stop lawmakers from certifying Biden’s win.
One of the main problems last week was a lack of coordination by multiple agencies in the district, which won’t happen this time because those agencies have already been approved to work together and have been doing so for months, Plati said.
‘We will have the adequate resourcing, personnel and plans in place,’ he said.
Plati said the event is planned over a year with contingencies and they anticipate the possibility of extreme violence.
‘There’s a variety of methods to ensure that we have a secure, seamless, safe environment for our protectees but most importantly, the general public,’ Plati said.