WASHINGTON (AP) – The police were outnumbered.
Only a few dozen guarded the western front of the United States Capitol when they were chased by thousands of pro-Trump protesters engaged in breaking into the building.
Armed with metal pipes, pepper spray and other weapons, the crowd surpassed the police’s thin line and a rioter threw a fire extinguisher at a police officer, according to a widely publicized YouTube video.
“They are entering the Capitol tonight! They’re coming in, ”screams the man who’s filming.
They broke the line moments later, and protesters soon stormed the building, taking over the House and Senate chambers and running wild in Statuary Hall and other sacred symbols of democracy. The crowd searched the place, smashing windows and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. Lawmakers who were voting to claim President-elect Joe Biden’s victory were forced into hiding for hours.
During the confusion, the police were injured, mocked, ridiculed and threatened. A Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries sustained during the rebellion. The confusion was sparked by a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump who professed his love of law enforcement and ridiculed the massive police reform protests that rocked the country last year after George Floyd’s police murder in Minneapolis.
“We support you in the summer,” shouted one person to three policemen leaning against a door by dozens of men shouting for them to get out of the way. “When the whole country hated you, we protected you!”
The violence shocked the world and left the country on the edge, forcing three senior Capitol security officials to resign because of their failure to prevent the breach. Lawmakers demanded a review of operations and an FBI briefing on what they called a “terrorist attack”.
Sicknick was the fifth person to die because of the violence in the Capitol.
A California woman was shot dead by the Capitol Police, and three others died after “medical emergencies” related to the rape, including at least those who died from an apparent heart attack.
Sicknick, 42, was hit in the head by a fire extinguisher during a fight, said two officers, although it is not clear whether he was the officer shown in the video. Officials were unable to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Another disturbing video shows a bloody policeman screaming for help as he is crushed by protesters inside the Capitol building. The young officer is trapped between a riot shield and a metal door. With his mouth bleeding, he screams in pain and screams, “Help!”
Other images show the police completely oppressed by protesters who pushed, kicked and pushed their way into the building. In an impressive video, a lone policeman tries to stop a crowd of protesters from invading the lobby. It fails.
People attacked the police with pipes, sprayed irritants and even planted live bombs found in the area.
Sicknick’s family said on Friday that he always wanted to be a police officer. He served in the New Jersey Air National Guard before joining the Capitol Police in 2008. Many details about the incident remain unknown, and Sicknick’s family asked the public and the media not to make his death a political issue.
Still, the riot – and Sicknick’s death – focused renewed attention on the Capitol Police, a force of more than 2,300 officers and civil servants who protect the Capitol, legislators, officials and visitors. The agency has an annual budget of about $ 515 million.
Three days before the riot, the Pentagon offered labor to the National Guard. And as the crowd descended on the building on Wednesday, Justice Department leaders approached to offer FBI agents. The Capitol Police refused both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.
Despite many warnings of a possible uprising and ample resources and time to prepare, the police planned only a demonstration of freedom of expression.
Like many other agencies, the Capitol Police was hit hard by COVID-19, with frequent schedule changes for police officers and many forced to work overtime to fill out lists. The pandemic put the police under pressure during the new session of Congress and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who resigned on Thursday under pressure from mayor Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders, defended his department’s response, saying officials “acted valiantly when confronted with thousands of individuals involved in violent and tumultuous actions “. Two other senior security officials, weapons sergeant Michael Stenger of the Senate and weapons sergeant Paul Irving, also resigned.
As of Friday, prosecutors had filed 14 cases in the federal district court and 40 others in the District Court of Columbia for a variety of crimes, from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the United States Capitol, theft of federal property and threats to legislators. Prosecutors said other cases remained sealed, dozens of others were being sought by federal agents and the United States attorney in Washington promised that “all options were on the table” for charges, including possibly sedition.
Among those accused was Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was shown in a widely seen photo sitting in Pelosi’s office with his boots on the table. He also wrote a derogatory note for Pelosi. Acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen called Barnett’s photo a “shocking” and “disgusting image.” ′
“Those who were proven to have committed criminal acts during the assault on the Capitol will face justice,” said Rosen.
Also accused was a West Virginia state lawmaker who posted videos online showing himself making his way into the Capitol, hitting a policeman with his fist and then circling the Rotunda while shouting “Our home!” The lawmaker, Derrick Evans, was arrested by the FBI at his home on Friday and accused of entering restricted federal property.
Gus Papathanasiou, president of the Capitol Police Officers Union, said he was “incredibly proud of every officer whose actions have protected the lives of hundreds of members of Congress and their staff.”
Since the violation of the Capitol building was inevitable, law enforcement officials prioritized lives over property, leading people to safety, he said. “No member of Congress or his team was injured. Our officers did their job. Our leadership does not. Our law enforcement partners who helped us were notable. “
Deputy Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who heads a subcommittee that oversees the budget of the Capitol Police, said on Friday that grassroots officers “were put in an incredibly dangerous situation. And that’s where my frustration really comes in. ″
Sund and other leaders have a responsibility to protect legislators, “but also to ensure that ordinary members are placed in situations where they are as safe as possible and have the support they need. And that is clearly not the case, ”said Ryan.
Pelosi ordered the flags on the Capitol to be reduced to half-mast in honor of Sicknick.
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Nomaan Merchant in Houston and Derek Karikari in New York contributed to this report.