WASHINGTON – A Senate report on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot recommends Congress empower the Capitol police chief to request help from the D.C. National Guard in emergencies and that officers receive regular training on handling civil disturbances and are provided basic protective gear including helmets, gloves and gas masks.
The joint report from the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees details the failure of law enforcement to fully understand the threat in the days leading up to the insurrection, when online posts warning of violence were deemed not credible by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. It portrays a chaotic response to the Capitol breach hampered by communications problems and inadequate preparation.
But the bipartisan document sheds little new light on the role of former President Donald Trump, who delivered an incendiary speech near the White House and exhorted his followers to head to the Capitol. There they battled police officers and stormed the building, hunting for lawmakers while erecting a gallows outside.
