TIME MAG: Insurrectionists Openly Planned for Weeks to Storm the Capitol. Why Were Police So Easily Overwhelmed?

Submitted by Harold Saive
TIME MAG:   Insurrectionists Openly Planned for Weeks to Storm the Capitol. Why Were Police So Easily Overwhelmed?
BY W.J. HENNIGAN AND VERA BERGENGRUEN JANUARY 7, 2021
https://time.com/5927215/capitol-hill-police-riots-unprepared/

The U.S. Capitol Police, which has a force of about 2,000 officers, along with city authorities, had been aware of the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally for weeks. And Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, said in a statement on Jan. 7 that officers had had a “robust plan” to deal with expected unrest.

Dozens of video clips posted to social media on Wednesday captured the image of outnumbered D.C. law enforcement officers apparently being overwhelmed by waves of pro-Trump rioters, who swarmed police barricades, sprayed chemical agents, smashed windows, and entered the U.S. Capitol building by brute force. It was the first time since the War of 1812 that the building was breached.

In the aftermath of the violence, lawmakers, civil rights leaders and former law enforcement officials began to question how the defenses at the center of the nation’s government could have failed so easily.

So why was it that, when protests turned violent, law enforcement lost control almost immediately?

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