Guard response to Capitol riots wasn’t hurt by politics, officials insist
Leo Shane III
Former Capitol Hill security officials on Tuesday insisted their decision not to involve more National Guard forces ahead of the deadly attack on the Capitol building on Jan. 6 was the result of intelligence analysis that underrated the threat on Congress and not concerns about the “optics†of having military personnel on Capitol Hill.
“We all agreed that the intelligence did not support the troops and collectively decided to let it go,†said Paul Irving, former House Sergeant at Arms who resigned in the wake of the assault. “From what I remember everyone was very satisfied that we had a robust plan, security plan that was consistent with the intelligence that we had at the time.â€
That decision, which resulted in Capitol Police officers being overwhelmed by thousands of rioters in a massive security breach designed to disrupt lawmakers’ certification of the November 2020 presidential election result, was part of the focus of a Senate hearing Tuesday examining the failures of that day and possible fixes for the future.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/02/23/guard-response-to-capitol-riots-wasnt-hurt-by-politics-officials-insist/
