The Washington, D.C. police chief believes the Capitol Police miscalculated what President Donald Trump supporters, who are generally pro-law enforcement, would do before a group stormed the Capitol Wednesday, the DCist reported Friday.
Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III said that unlike the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) prepared for the pro-Trump rallies by discussing mutual aid efforts with other agencies prior to Wednesday’s events and making sure they had resources on hand to respond to any unrest, the DCist reported.
“I believe that there was a miscalculation on what [Capitol Police] were actually going to be dealing with on their part,” Contee said on The Politics Hour.
“A lot of these supporters of our president that were out are normally law enforcement supporters, that kind of thing, perhaps there was a miscalculation. I mean, that would be my guess, that there was a miscalculation in terms of what they would or would not do,” Contee added.
Due to the significant interest for information related to the incidents in and around the US Capitol, this thread will be updated with pertinent information. pic.twitter.com/docEDp7ZcQ
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 7, 2021
Contee attributed the difference in the MPD’s response to not having jurisdiction on the Capitol grounds unless invited, the DCist reported. He added that the MPD did not have specific intelligence of a potential breach of the Capitol Building.
“There was no specific intelligence where someone says, ‘Hey, I’m going to place a bomb or I’m going to do this,’” Contee said on the Politics Hour. “You know, there was no specific intelligence.” (RELATED: Capitol Police Turned Down Help Before Riot Started)
Some Trump supporters discussed targeting the Capitol Building on a public online forum before the events took place, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported. One user said it was the group’s “primary objective” to “Encircle congress” and “make sure they can’t leave.”
Another user suggested bringing “belts and whips” to the rally in order to “storm the Capitol,” the DCNF reported.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.