By: Claire Cao
As the House Jan. 6 panel continues to uncover the dark truth behind the storming of the Capitol on January 6th, investigations conducted by the “Blue Team” are delving deeper into law enforcement’s failure to prevent the insurrection despite clear warning signs.
Upcoming hearings in September are expected to focus on the intelligence and law enforcement authorities involved including the Capitol police force, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.
During the attack on the Capitol, police were understaffed and unprepared to face an angry, violent mob. The Jan. 6 committee is trying to understand why the police were not alerted of this sooner, allowing the situation to get out of hand.
In the past, the Jan. 6 committee has heavily emphasized former President Trump’s actions in instigating and encouraging violence. However, they are now looking at the full picture of how the situation escalated into a bloodbath. New information gathered by the “blue team” focuses on law enforcement’s failure to protect citizens leading up to January 6th and during the storming.
Describing the Jan. 6th committee’s work, a committee aide states, “The team has conducted more than 100 interviews and depositions touching on these matters of security and intelligence across several federal and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Fusion Centers, Office of Intelligence & Analysis, among others," the aide said. "The team is looking into what intelligence these agencies had at their disposal; how that intelligence was analyzed, stitched together, and distributed; and whether law enforcement operationalized that intelligence.”
The main goal of the Blue Team and the Jan. 6 Committee is to ensure the security of our citizens and democracy. Analyzing the shortcomings of law enforcement on that day will ultimately allow positive changes that enable future security measures to become more effective in protecting us from another uprising. Although not many details have been released to the public on the specifics of these investigations, they will be included in the final report and utilized in the near future.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-failures-capitol-siege-avoided-jan-6-committees-scorn-not-long-rcna38615