WASHINGTON: The chief from United States CapitolPoliceman will resign, according to media reports on Thursday, a day after the federal force tasked with protecting Congress failed to retain supporters of Republican President Donald Triumph to rob the building.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, had asked CapitolPolicemanChief Steven Sund resigned after officers from the 2,000-member force fell back as the crowd advanced Wednesday.
That enabled Angry Trump Supporters about his electoral defeat to invade the halls of Congress and disrupt Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s certification of victory. Other officers fought to keep lawmakers and staff safe.
the CapitolPoliceman did not immediately respond to inquiries about reports of Sund’s resignation.
CNN reported Thursday that a CapitolPoliceman The officer had died after the riots, the fifth person to die in the incident.
The Washington federal prosecutor said he would indict any CapitolPoliceman officers considered complicit in allowing protesters in the building, and lawmakers promised to open an investigation in the department.
“Many of our CapitolPoliceman acted with such courage and with such concern for the staff, members, Capitol … and deserve our gratitude. But there was a flaw at the top of the CapitolPoliceman“said Pelosi, a Democrat, calling for Sund’s resignation.
He said Paul Irving, the House sergeant-at-arms, would resign. Senate Top Democrat Chuck Schumer said he would fire Michael Stenger, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, as soon as the Georgia runoff elections for two seats are certified and Democrats control the Senate.
Trump supporters ransacked lawmakers’ offices, stole computers and documents, and left threatening messages as they roamed the building for hours in a rampage that left four people dead – one shot by policeman and three who died from medical emergencies.
The crowd rushing through the building, wearing Trump flags and trademark red hats, stood in stark contrast to the response to the anti-racism protests this summer. At that time, the White House It was surrounded by several blocks of shock absorbers, and law enforcement officers used tear gas, projectiles and, at one point, the blast of a helicopter rotor downward to drive the protesters back.
In comparison, the streets around the Capitol were open Wednesday morning, and scatters of CapitolPoliceman He stood on low metal barriers that resembled bicycle racks.
District of Columbia Councilman Charles Allen, who represents the area around Capitol Hill called that contrast particularly jarring.
“They were invaded and in many cases they seem to have opened the doors wide, selfies were taken,” Allen said. “When they called DC Metropolitan Policeman Department, it was too late. ”
A Democratic aide to the House of Representatives, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the investigation would focus on what intelligence was available in the run-up to the riot, how decisions were made, and why the perimeter of the Capitol he was no more sure.
The assistant said that some protesters were found wearing bridles. Those sturdy plastic ties are often used to handcuff people and could indicate an intention to kidnap members of Congress.
“Taxpayers deserve to know why … it only took an hour for a handful of rogue protesters to enter the building and pose a threat to the continuity of democracy,” said Senator Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the Senate subcommittee that supervises the CapitolPolicemanhe told reporters.
‘WHY DON’T THEY COME?’
Pelosi joined dozens of House members in the safe room where they took shelter after protesters knocked on her chamber doors Wednesday and told them she had received a steady stream of calls asking why reinforcements had not been sent with faster.
“Why don’t they come in now? Almost a constant stream of calls,” Pelosi said. “That’s something to review.”
Pelosi and other lawmakers also praised the CapitolPoliceman to protect your staff and journalists. Many officers were injured.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the gap a “shocking failure.”
CapitolPoliceman he did not respond to questions about why they did not cordon off the area or bring in more support officers ahead of the protests, which Trump himself urged to be “savage.”
Acting US Attorney for Washington Michael Sherwin told a news conference that any CapitolPoliceman The officer found complicit in the violation of the building would be charged.
Sherwin declined to answer a question about why CapitolPoliceman it did not stop people as soon as they tried to enter the building. “That is cause for concern and that makes our work difficult,” he said.
The FBI sought the public’s help in identifying the rioters. Some of the 68 people arrested after Wednesday’s incidents were due to appear in court on Thursday.
On Thursday, teams installed 2 m (7 ft) fencing around the Capitol. Policeman he said they had been ordered not to speak to journalists.
Before reports of his resignation, Sund said in a statement that the officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, who was among a group of Trump supporters attempting to break into the House chamber, was on the side. administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated.
Sund said his officers “responded bravely” when protesters attacked them with “metal tubes, discharged chemical irritants and took other weapons.” They also faced two tube bombs.
A senior administration official said that CapitolPoliceman it had rejected Defense Department offers for additional training before Wednesday.
“There was concern about having too much militarized presence, but it was about training and how to set up perimeters and a layered defense, and that was also rejected,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
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