As protesters became a growing threat to the Capitol on January 6, Sund called for more help from federal agencies and security agencies in the area. “He also lobbied for authorization to bring in the National Guard, but he did not obtain authorization for more than an hour,” she said.
Two of the board members at the time of the attack have already resigned, Paul D. Irving, the House’s arms sergeant, and Michael C. Stenger, the Senate’s arms sergeant. The third member, J. Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, is still on the board. Mr. Blanton was appointed by Mr. Trump in December 2019 and confirmed by the Senate that same month. The Capitol Police Chief acts ex officio, without the right to vote.
“In my experience, I do not believe that there was any preparation that would have allowed an open campus on which legal protesters could exercise their first amendment right to freedom of expression and at the same time avoid the attack on Capitol grounds that day,” Ms Pittman said.
In the aftermath of the attack, many policemen are suffering from PTSD, she said, “mainly after the loss of two of our policemen directly and indirectly as a result of the January 6 events”. Officials have also experienced an increase in coronavirus infections.
During the briefing, acting House Sergeant-in-Arms, Timothy P. Blodgett, also said it was “clear that there was a failure to prepare,” citing weak communications and a defense of the Capitol perimeter.
“Whether there was insufficient or conflicting intelligence, a lack of capacity to translate that intelligence into action, insufficient preparation or inadequate capacity to mobilize partner agencies for immediate assistance, a series of events, previously considered unfathomable, unfolded allowing our most sacred halls to be breached” Said Blodgett.