January 6th was a government failure.
It usually is. The Washington Post quotes a senior Biden Administration official,
“The bottom line, we concluded, was there was insufficient information-sharing and coordination that was raised up to higher levels, and that needed to change,” said one senior administration official. There was also “insufficient anticipation of the kinds of things that could happen,” the official added.
Sound familiar? It should. This was the same excuse the same government used after the September 11th attacks. The Director of National Intelligence was created to close those information-sharing gaps because the FBI has certain information about the hijackers and the CIA had other information. That information never came together.
More from the Post.
The Washington Post has catalogued numerous instances in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 when red flags warning of violence were quickly dismissed by the FBI. The Post also examined how Capitol Police officers were unprepared for a mob assault on the legislative branch.
In other words, the information law enforcement agencies needed to prevent the Capitol breach was there. They didn't take it seriously enough. They didn't call in reinforcements.
Newsweek points out Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser downplayed the severity of security concerns that day.
Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter on New Year's Eve to Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, requesting support on January 5 through 6. She said Guard personnel would support the MPD and the District Fire and Emergency Medical Services. "[N]o DCNG personnel shall be armed during this mission, and at no time, will DCNG personnel or assets be engaged in domestic surveillance, searches, or seizures of [U.S.] persons," she wrote.
The U.S. Capitol Breach is nothing to celebrate. Those that entered the Capitol should and are facing the consequences of that decision. Consequences shouldn't stop there. The government officials that ignored the intelligence should also be accountable for their failures and for circling back to the same old tired government excuse.