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On January 6, thousands of protesters stormed and occupied the United States Congress, as senators and deputies gathered to formalize Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 elections (which took place in the early morning of January 7). .
The assault was incited by the outgoing president, Donald trump, who speaking in the demonstration that preceded the attack had said: Victory is not recognized when there is a robbery at stake. We will have an illegitimate president, we cannot allow that. At 7:10 p.m., Italian time, Trump said: We will march to the Capitol.
The next day, many unanswered questions and open points remain from an episode of violence unprecedented in recent United States history.
Did the police let the protesters pass?
The assault on Congress represents a very serious failure, in the first place, for the police forces that should protect the American Parliament. Some MPs have already announced an investigation and the deputy national security adviser has resigned.
From early reports, it is clear that the US Capitol Police, who guard the Capitol, were caught off guard. He underestimated the protesters, created no barriers, was inadequately equipped, and the lineup was very light. A thin blue line. More filters, more men would have been needed.
The protection of Congress, in the first hours of the assault, was entrusted only to the United States Capitol Police, made up of some 2,000 men and women in total.
The task of the United States Capitol Police, which is formally under the control of Congress, is to defend the buildings where the legislative activity of the United States takes place, for example, by preventing access to external stairs and, a fortiori and absolutely, the one within the American Parliament.
The United States Capitol Police had not requested reinforcements from any armed forces. Some videos, posted to Twitter in recent hours, showed United States Capitol police officers apparently removing barriers in front of protesters, making their way up the stairs of Congress. In another video, a protester is seen taking a selfie with a Capitol police officer. It is not clear why this could have happened. It will be the investigation – in which the FBI participates – to verify this, without pursuing false leads.
Were there intelligence errors?
The second open question refers to intelligence errors: there has not been a correct assessment of the threat, despite the fact that some Trumpist fringes were (and are) known for their extreme tendencies.
According to reports from the Reuters agency, which cites high-level sources and maintained anonymity, the unified session to ratify the electoral result was preceded by very little preparation in terms of security, unlike what happens with other events such as the inauguration of a new presidency. Although this ratification session was, throughout the recent history of the United States, a routine event, this year, on the same day and a short distance from Congress, a protest was called against what the protesters and the president of the The United States believes, without any foundation, a false electoral result.
That the demonstration would not be animated by peaceful intentions was deductible well in advance of thousands of posts and messages exchanged on social media: Again the Reuters agency, citing a former member of the US intelligence services specialized in monitoring online activities, speaks of at least 1480 account posts related to the QAnon conspiracy movement who, speaking of the January 6 march, incited violence, pushing the patriots to action.
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Didn’t Trump call the National Guard?
There were no special units and reinforcements in the vicinity of Congress. No department that could give support. Only after hours, when the rebels already owned the building, was it decided to react thanks to the intervention of other police forces.
Formally, the mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, requested the dispatch of the National Guard.
According to the New York Times, Trump initially opposed the call to mobilize the National Guard. Vice President Mike Pence approved the order. With Trump technically still the president of the United States and the commander-in-chief of the military, it is unclear why he did not issue the order.
According to White House spokeswoman Kaylegh McEnany, the Trump estate gave the order. Certainly, the Pentagon delayed the dispatch of the National Guard: perhaps the caution also arose from the controversy that arose when the military mobilized at times of anti-police protests.
According to sources cited by the New York Times, yesterday it was extremely difficult for all White House staff to contact the president, who continued to follow the news on television.
The Associated Press also writes that Trump, back in a van at the White House after speaking at the rally, spent much of the afternoon in his private dining room near the Oval Room, watching the scenes of devastation on television. Faced with requests from staff to invite the protesters to leave, a reluctant Trump responded with two tweets, a video message and a text tweet, in which he did not condemn the violence.
In these hours, according to the reliable website Axios, officials of the Republican Party are evaluating the possibility of arresting the president with censorship, impeachment and the 25th Amendment: the rule that would allow Trump to take the presidency after he was judged incapable. to carry out their functions.
The president, says a senior adviser, “lost it.” It has been almost impossible to talk to him all day today, and he has been watching the coverage of the Capitol.
– Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 7, 2021
Why so few arrests?
The actions of the protesters are of obvious gravity: beyond the unauthorized entry into Congress, there have been episodes of violence (14 policemen were injured; 4 protesters died), and the offices of parliamentarians have been devastated.
Many thugs have had access to places reserved for parliamentarians, with computers open, papers available: so much so that some experts now wonder if important information has been compromised.
Despite this, the ridiculous number of arrests: 52, according to the Ap.
Why did the police shoot at eye level?
Four people were killed in the clashes in Congress. Three of them, as Andrea Marinelli writes here, would have died following unspecified medical emergencies, after being transported from Capitol Hill to city hospitals, but their identities have not yet been made public. One of the victims, on the other hand, was hit by a gunshot: it is Ashli Elizabeth Babbitt, 35, a veteran of the Air Force and a strong supporter of Trump and the conspiracy theories of QAnon.
It is not clear why the United States Capitol Police fired at eye level or if the protesters, some of them certainly armed, opened fire on the police force in the first instance.
January 7, 2021 (change January 7, 2021 | 11:46 am)
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