We Were ‘Overwhelmed,’ Capitol Police Say Of Jan. 6 Riots

The acting head of the police force in Washington D.C. said security was aware of the possibility of violence on Jan. 6, though the force still became quickly “overwhelmed.”

House leaders continue to vet testimony about the events surrounding last month's breach at the Capitol building. Yogananda Pittman, the acting head of the Capitol Police, said early information suggested armed “militia members” and extremist groups would be present.

“While the Department was prepared to neutralize and remove individuals or groups engaging in civil disobedience or violence among the demonstrators, it was quickly overwhelmed by the thousands of insurrectionists (many armed) who immediately and without provocation began attacking officers, bypassing physical barriers, and refusing to comply with lawful orders,” she was quoted by Reuters as saying in her prepared remarks being delivered Thursday to the House Appropriations Committee.

Pittman served as the assistant chief of the department’s intelligence operations unit on Jan. 6 and oversaw the agency’s Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division. According to intelligence from the division on Jan. 3, supporters of then-President Donald Trump may have “an incentive to become violent.”

Trump was charged in the House but later acquitted in the Senate as a private citizen, with one article of impeachment for inciting the insurrection. During a January speech in Washington D.C., the then-president urged his supporters to march on the Capitol just as lawmakers were voting to certify results of the Nov. 3 election that saw Trump lose his bid for a second term in office.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post revealed details of a 12-page memo issued by the Capitol Police intelligence unit that warned “Congress itself” could be the target of an attack on Jan. 6.

The FBI’s field office in Virginia, meanwhile, noted that comments posted on unspecified discussion boards suggested congressional leaders needed to see “blood...being spilled.”

“Get violent,” one message read. “Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.”

The FBI report was relayed to D.C. police days before the rally that turned violent, but area security officials claimed they didn’t see it in time. It’s widely believed the violence was planned given Trump’s tweet from mid-December that urged supporters to “be wild” during protests on Jan. 6.

More than 200 people have been charged for various crimes related to the unrest with many affiliated with far-right groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Five people, including a police officer, died as a result of the Capitol building breach.