Capitol Police Chief Says Six Requests for Backup Were Denied Ahead of Jan 6

As Americans continue to strain for an adequate explanation of the events of January 6th, there is one piece of the puzzle that is getting quite a bit of attention:  The lack of proper personnel to keep the large and agitated mob from gaining access to the US Capitol.

The Capitol is, after all, one of the most secure buildings in all of the United States, which would put it high on the list of the most secure buildings in the world.  Capitol Police being simply overrun by the crowd gathered outside was not something that Americans were expecting to see, and those taking a look back at the preparations that were made ahead of that date are curious as to how the force wasn’t more prepared.

An outgoing leader within the organization is telling the nation that he was repeatedly denied additional resources in the days leading up to the siege.

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said he requested that the National Guard be placed on standby in the days before the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, but House and Senate security officials turned him down.

Sund, who resigned his post the day after the riot, told The Washington Post he had been concerned that the protest planned for Jan. 6 would be larger than expected. Sund said he asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the National Guard be placed on standby.

Sund said House and Senate sergeants at arms told him they were not comfortable with the “optics” of declaring an emergency days before the protest and suggested Sund should informally ask Guard officials to be on alert. Both have since resigned.

Sund said he pleaded for help five more times as the riot unfolded. A crowd of several thousand quickly overran the Capitol Police contingent of 1,400 officers at the scene.

Washington DC is preparing for more violent protests in the coming weeks, as the FBI and other agencies warn that groups aligned with the crowd at the Capitol are organizing on social media to create more chaos around Joe Biden’s inauguration later this month.