1. Apparently, the invasion of the U.S. Capitol was planned in advance on Trump-supporting social media websites where anyone could see.
On the Washingtonian website, this was the headline on January 5, 2021, the day before the U.S. Capitol insurrection:
MAGA Geniuses Plot Takeover of US Capitol
Here is some of that article:
TheDonald.win, an online forum for fans of President Trump, is on fire Tuesday with members’ plans to travel to DC for pro-Trump rallies. Since the rallies coincide with Congress’s expected confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, a subset of TheDonald.win’s posters have discussed ways they might “occupy” or “storm” the US Capitol to make citizens’ arrests of lawmakers who hold old-fashioned views like honoring state-certified election results.
Yes, there were actually articles on publicly available blogs and social media about how Trump supporters were planning to “storm” or “occupy” the Capitol one or more days before it actually happened.
2. Capitol Police were asked about the planning to “storm” the U.S. Capitol before January 6th, and the Capitol Police brushed those concerns aside.
The Washingtonian article from above continues:
Eva Malecki, a spokesperson for the US Capitol Police, declined to comment on the MAGA fans’ thought experiments but tells Washingtonian that “While we do not discuss the means, methods, or specific resources used to carry out our protective responsibilities, the United States Capitol Police has comprehensive security plans in place and we continuously monitor and assess new and emerging threats, with the overall goal of keeping those within the Capitol Complex safe and secure.”
Some of TheDonald.win’s commenters nonetheless think they’ve found a way in that the cops may have forgotten: The Capitol complex’s system of pedestrian tunnels, originally built to protect delicate lawmakers from Washington’s weather. In one discussion titled “If we occupy the capitol building, there will be no vote,” for instance, commenters bat around the idea while taking into consideration doors that are “built like castle walls,” barricades, and law enforcement.
3. At least one Trump supporters that dreamed of storming the U.S. Capitol apparently had fantasies of herding the lawmakers all into one room while Trump supporters stood guard:
Tunnels are a big topic of discussion in other posts, like this one that fantasizes about “Every corrupt member of congress locked in one room and surrounded by real Americans.” (Pessimism, alas, surfaces that members of Congress will instead “vote via Skype from the luxury of their villas with private security guarding their families like the coward commie scum they are.”) Another shares an old-timey map of the tunnels that purports to show the complex from below. Sample comment: “It’s the worst map I’ve ever seen.”
Is that what the zip-tie plastic handcuffs were for—to hold the lawmakers hostage in one room? If so, what was their next move? Did they even have a next move?
4. The U.S. Capitol Police has more than 2300 officers and civilians. How many did you see when you saw the January 6th Capitol footage?
I would think that on a big day like Wednesday, January 6th, when a big protest rally in D.C. was expected and Congress was conducting important business, such as counting Presidential votes, that a lot of the Capitol police would be working that day. So, how many of that 2300 staff was working on January 6th? Does anyone think that anything close to 2300 Capitol police officers and civilians were working that day? Were even 230 working that day? From the Associated Press:
It is not clear how many officers were on-duty Wednesday, but the complex is policed by a total of 2,300 officers for 16 acres of ground who protect the 435 House representatives, 100 U.S. senators and their staff. By comparison, the city of Minneapolis has about 840 uniformed officers policing a population of 425,000 in a 6,000-acre area.
840 uniformed police officers can handle the city of Minneapolis, but the 2300 person staff of the Capitol police cannot manage 16 acres of ground? Seriously?
5. A lot of us on the Left seemed to realize how dangerous the January 6th protests might be. The Capitol Police have their own intelligence division. How could they possibly miss the possibility of a big problem?
There was a front-page article on DailyKos around January 4th about the upcoming January 6th protest which mentioned that the protest might be dangerous because Trump supporters on social media had been talking about how they wanted to sneak guns into Washington D.C. The article also noted that at previous Proud Boy Trump Supporter rallies in November and December there had been violence.
The comments on that article were generally in agreement that people on the Left should avoid the Trump supporters in Washington D.C. on the 6th because some of them would probably be looking for a fight. In addition, the mayor of D.C. warned the citizens of D.C. before January 6th not to interact with the Trump rally-goers. Washington D.C. also asked in advance for more than 300 national guardsmen to help the existing D.C. police with traffic control on January 6th. That sounds like Washington D.C. was expecting a lot of people on January 6th—and maybe some conflict. At the Capitol, however, I guess the Capitol police plan was to what, sleep in? Give lots of officers the day off?
6. Capitol Police twice rejected offers of help for January 6th.
WASHINGTON — Three days before supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the Capitol, the Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.
Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection and ample resources and time to prepare, the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration.
OK, so let’s say you are the Capitol Police, and you figure that won’t have enough people to handle a big protest on January 6th. Why wouldn’t you take the extra help offered before the protest? In addition, let’s say that on January 6th, your police are overwhelmed (because maybe you gave too many people the day off). Why wouldn’t you take help when offered?
7. Where was the 7-foot nonscalable fence that usually is up in front of the capitol when big rallies occur?
From what I have read, it is standard practice to ring the Capitol in a 7-foot non-scalable fence when they know that a big protest is coming. The 7-foot fence is apparently up now. Why wasn’t it up before? Also, where was the riot gear that the Capitol Police were wearing during the BLM protests?
8. By January 2nd, a U.S. Representative from Texas, Louie Gohmert, was telling people “that you gotta go the streets and be as violent as antifa and BLM.”
A few days before the rally, an actual U.S. Congressperson told Trump supporters that they had to get violent. At the rally itself, before Trump supporters marched to the capitol, Trump lawyer Rudy Guliani said that the way to settle the election was “trial by combat”. Should anyone be surprised that violence came soon after?
9. Did Trump’s January 6th rioters think that they could do anything they wanted because Trump would pardon them? Will Trump pardon them?
Just thinking about this idea makes me want to hurl, but wouldn’t it earn Trump undying loyalty from these lunatics if Trump pardoned him? What would Trump think he had to lose by pardoning them? Can Trump blanket pardon them all in one document?