Excerpted from The New York Times.

Capitol Police Detail Failures During Pro-Trump Assault.

The acting chief of the Capitol Police told lawmakers that the department knew days ahead of time of the risk of violence targeting lawmakers but was unprepared when the mob attacked on Jan. 6.

By Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane and Adam Goldman

Published Jan. 26, 2021 Updated Jan. 27, 2021, 12:06 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police department on Tuesday delivered to Congress its first after-action report since the deadly pro-Trump assault on the Capitol, laying out a dismal picture of failure to prepare adequately despite knowing days ahead of time that right-wing extremists could target lawmakers.

Testifying by videoconference to a closed session of a House committee, the acting chief of the Capitol Police, Yogananda D. Pittman, acknowledged that the department knew there was a “strong potential for violence” but failed to take necessary steps to prevent what she described as a “terrorist attack.”….

“By Jan. 4, the department knew that the Jan. 6 event would not be like any of the previous protests held in 2020…. We knew that militia groups and white supremacists organizations would be attending. We also knew that some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event. We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target.”
Testimony of Acting US Capitol Police Chief Yogananda D. Pittman, before the House Appropriations Committee. New York Times, January 26, 2021.