Read the HSGAC & Rules report on January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Senators Klobuchar, Blunt, Peters and Portman released the first Congressional report examining the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. It can be read here.

Demand Progress Policy Director Daniel Schuman, who has spent years scrutinizing the U.S. Capitol Police and lack of robust security procedures on Capitol Hill, broke down the limited scope of the report, its findings and why a 1/6 Commission (or Select Committee) is critical to further identify how to prevent another attack. Read his thread here.

From the executive summary:

This report addresses the security, planning, and response failures of the entities directly responsible for Capitol security—USCP and the Capitol Police Board, which is comprised of the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms and the Architect of the Capitol as voting members, and the USCP Chief as a non-voting member—along with critical breakdowns involving several federal agencies, particularly the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), and Department of Defense (“DOD”). The Committees also made a series of recommendations for the Capitol Police Board, USCP, federal intelligence agencies, DOD, and other Capital region law enforcement agencies to address the intelligence and security failures.

And key takeaways from the summary:

The federal Intelligence Community—led by FBI and DHS—did not issue a threat assessment warning of potential violence targeting the Capitol on January 6.

USCP’s intelligence components failed to convey the full scope of threat information they possessed.

USCP was not adequately prepared to prevent or respond to the January 6 security threats, which contributed to the breach of the Capitol.

Opaque processes and a lack of emergency authority delayed requests for National Guard assistance.

The intelligence failures, coupled with the Capitol Police Board’s failure to request National Guard assistance prior to January 6, meant DCNG was not activated, staged, and prepared to quickly respond to an attack on the Capitol. As the attack unfolded, DOD required time to approve the request and gather, equip, and instruct its personnel on the mission, which resulted in additional delays.

Read the full report here.