The joint alert from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday underscores a broader effort by federal agencies to prevent a repeat of the mistakes made before January 6, when officials were surprised by a violent pro-Trump crowd that invaded the Capitol. These flaws in intelligence sharing and planning have been exposed in the past two months in various hearings and have been the focal point of criticism from lawmakers investigating the violent attack that left several people dead.
Violent extremists also discussed plans to persuade thousands of people to travel to Washington, DC, to participate in the March 4 plot, according to the joint intelligence bulletin.
A source noted to CNN that it is mostly online chatting and not necessarily an indication that someone is coming to Washington to act on it.
Some conspiracy theorists believe the former president will take office on March 4, according to the joint bulletin. Between 1793 and 1933, the inauguration used to fall on March 4 or at a later date.
United States Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told Congress on Wednesday that his department had “relative intelligence” over the next few days in Congress – but said it would not be “prudent” for her to share intelligence ” sensitive to law enforcement “in a public hearing or public format.
Pittman assured lawmakers, however, that his department is in an “enhanced” security posture and that the National Guard and Capitol Police have been told what to expect in the next few days.
Greater communication
There was a concerted effort between federal agencies to communicate possible threats before March 4 in a way they hadn’t before January 6.
The effort to improve preparedness extends to communication with state and local authorities. DHS held a call on Wednesday with state and local law enforcement officials across the country to discuss current threats posed by domestic extremists, including concerns about potential violence around March 4 and beyond, according to two sources. familiar with the subject.
Although the specific details of the call remain unclear, both sources said the general message from DHS officials is that dealing with threats posed by domestic extremists requires greater communication and intelligence sharing between federal, state and local entities, as well as change in the way police officers interpret the information they receive.
In a clear sign that federal agencies are working to avoid the same miscommunications for which they have been harshly criticized since the attack on the Capitol, DHS officials are emphasizing that law enforcement should not see intelligence only through the lens whether a threat qualifies as “reliable and specific”, but use warnings from DHS, FBI and other partner agencies to inform decisions about your security posture, even if the information provided does not point to an imminent attack or violence, they said the sources.
Federal officials are emphasizing the point that gaps in intelligence sharing have left police officers unprepared for the chaos that unfolded on January 6, although they were notified of potential violence days before the attack, and that, going forward, the bulletins issued by DHS and FBI indicate a threat is serious enough to be communicated to relevant entities, even if the intelligence is based mainly on online conversations or other less definitive indicators, the sources said.
DHS’s interim intelligence chief, Melissa Smislova, testified on Wednesday that DHS is “completely dissatisfied” with the results of “departmental efforts that took until January 6”.
She told lawmakers that the department is reviewing how it distributes information and coordinates with partners. “We think it was enough and it clearly wasn’t,” she said.
“We will do better,” she added.
Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asked the department to assess its operational stance at the tactical and strategic level, specifically the ability to respond to a potential emerging situation in the Capital region, a US official told CNN.
Electoral fraud conspiracies
Perceived electoral fraud and other conspiracy theories associated with the presidential transition can contribute to violence with little or no warning, according to the bulletin, which is part of a series of intelligence products to highlight potential domestic threats from violent extremists to the region. Washington, DC.
“Given that the Capitol complex is currently fortified as a military facility, I do not foresee any successful attack on the property,” said Brian Harrell, former assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at DHS. “However, all threats must be taken seriously and investigations launched against those who cry out for violence. We continue to see extreme right-wing extremist groups that are fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories quickly becoming the most dangerous threat to society. ”
In the current environment, “you really cannot underestimate the potential of an individual or a small group of individuals to engage in violence because they believe in a false narrative that they are seeing online,” said the US official.
The false narrative of a stolen election is still drawing the attention of domestic extremists, the official said, adding that there are people “in the domestic extremist world who call for acts of violence in response to that narrative”.
Although March 4 is a law enforcement concern, it is not an “independent event,” said the official; instead, it is part of a “continuum of violence” based on domestic extremist conspiracy theories.
“It is a threat that continues to worry the police authorities. And I suspect that we will have to focus on it in the coming months,” said the official.
The bulletin also notes that extremist militias “allegedly threatened an attack on the US Capitol using explosives to kill as many members of Congress as possible during the State of the Union speech, according to the US Capitol Police Chief. “.
At the time, Pittman said the police remained concerned about threats from known militia groups “with a direct link to the State of the Union”.
CNN’s Whitney Wild and Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.