US Capitol mob was "planned in plain sight": Report

A Senate investigation report has found that the deadly January 6 US Capitol insurrection, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden's victory, was "planned in plain sight", and the intelligence failed to counter it, The Guardian reports.

According to the investigation report, a 127-page document filed by the US homeland security and rules committees, poor communication among police, poor planning, faulty equipment, and lack of leadership resulted in the incident that led to five people's death. Even though the Capitol police's intelligence division had been gathering online data about plots to storm the Capitol building ahead of the mob, they failed to tackle insurrectionists.

It said that the intelligence knew about social media posts calling for violence and specifically related threat messages like: "Bring guns. It's now or never". Also, maps of the Capitol complex and its tunnel systems were shared online. The report also blames the FBI for their failure to collect information as it was there on social media.

Yet, the report does not state much about the causes of the riots or examined Donald Trump's role as the one who incited them, saying "fight like hell" or using the term "insurrection".

The intelligence of threats and calls for violence were not passed to the FBI, defence, or homeland security, the report said. Also, the justice department did not create a security plan or coordinate the response, it said. It blamed the Capitol police for not having a staffing plan for the joint session of Congress despite threats to the electoral college ratification after Trump raised false claims of voter fraud.

Police personals, who were on the frontline against mobsters, told senators that they were left with no leadership or direction when command and communication systems broke. They sustained severe injures like chemical burns, brain injuries, broken bones etc. A police officer was quoted in the report saying that the police force wasn't prepared, informed, and abandoned and betrayed by seniors. Another officer said that nobody from above responded to the radio even when officers begged for help and medical triage.

The report has details of hours of calls between Capitol and Pentagon. Other security forces were slow to respond, while the Capitol police chief begged for help.

Pentagon sought to avoid being too aggressive following its insensitive response to Black Lives Matter protests and wasted hours seeking approvals while police were getting beaten.

The report recommended immediate changes to the Capitol police force, giving it more authority and ability to communicate with the national guard. Also, it recommended providing them with better planning and equipment for law enforcement and streamline intelligence gathering.

The report surfaces two weeks after the Republicans had blocked a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection.

(based on The Guardian story)