House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) suggested on Friday that someone from inside the U.S. Capitol may have been “complicit” in its attack earlier this week, citing the relative ease that Trump’s supporters raided the building on Wednesday.
“I do believe that something was going on,” Clyburn told CBSN’s Lana Zak in an interview on Friday. “They knew where to go.”
Clyburn told the network that he had heard from others in Congress that their staff reported seeing members of the violent mob being let into the building “through side doors.”
“Somebody on the inside of those buildings were complicit in this,” the South Carolina lawmaker asserted.
The comments come after President Trump incited his supporters to lay siege at the U.S. Capitol in what became an attack that left five people dead.
Clyburn added that he felt something was “amiss” on Wednesday morning when he arrived at the U.S. Capitol and “the perimeter had not been established,” in preparation for what was expected to be a contentious joint congressional session to count the Electoral College votes that would reaffirm Joe Biden’s win of the presidency.
“We have seen a double standard here,” Cluyburn said, comparing the lack of security on Wednesday to the incredible show of force amid peaceful Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
“There were no security people on the steps. They were all out in a place which I thought gave low security,” Clyburn said.
“They did not do their jobs. They were not just derelict. You could say they were complicit,” he added of law enforcement.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund stepped down after Wednesday’s attack, but amid widespread criticism of police response defended how law enforcement had mobilized to handle the situation calling their actions “heroic given the situation they faced.”
Sund said more than 50 Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan police had sustained injuries and that some were serious. One Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick died on Thursday night due to injuries sustained while on duty during the attack.
I agree with Clyburn. I used to work in the Capitol complex and have been on site many times a year over the past decade. Watching it live on TV it was obvious that something was terribly wrong–the terrorists had easy access. They didn’t storm or run in, they walked in, like they were on a guided tour.
There should be plenty of surveillance video from security cameras mounted at entrances throughout the building. Let’s see what those cameras recorded. And if they were disabled, then let’s find out why.
If true that the mob were “let in through side doors”, that’s incredibly serious. That said, extraordinary allegations require evidence. Preferably air-tight evidence, but at least something better than “I’ve heard…” or “I’ve been told…”
Clearly there is a lot to investigate here, and there are many failures that need to be examined. Quite possibly assistance from the complicit. The Capitol Police caught on film taking selfies with the mob obviously need to be held to account as well (I’m not clear if this was more than a person or two, since I’ve only seen the one nasty selfie repeated over and over). Having said all that, congressman Clyburn is out over the tips of his skis on this one and somewhat exposed. Trump and friends criminally withholding additional support from the Capitol Police when requested, plus poor contingency planning from said Capitol Police (very possibly because of the blinders that white privilege can bring to the situation), also could explain this. I’m not saying that’s all that happened, but it could be; never underestimate the disruptive effects of incompetence. He could have waited until the truth was a little clearer, because it’s all going to come out
Photos please of all those sustained injuries. Not saying it didn’t happen to some, but bet it didn’t happen to the welcoming committee when the thugs were entering the building.
Like the days in the “Old South” where law enforcement disappeared when the Klan held its rallies (or lynchings). I expect that the orders came from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
However, once the mob took over, I agree with the restraint shown by law enforcement when it finally arrived. The best gift that they could have given to he whose name must not be tweeted would have been a replay of the Odessa Steps on national TV.