The Secret Service on January 5 warned the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) of a threat to commit violence at the upcoming Trump rally in D.C. the next day, which ultimately led to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
A redacted email obtained by government watchdog organization Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) shows the Secret Service informing the USCP of a “possible officer safety issue for 1/6/21” on January 5.
“Per our Denver Field Office, a concerned citizen reported that [redacted] were flying into BWI today to attend tomorrow’s rally and ‘incite violence.’ In addition, the source reports that [redacted] previously made threats against President-Elect Biden,” the Secret Service wrote.
The email noted that the citizen reported that the subjects were driving to D.C. with “ballistic helmets, armored gloves and vests, rifles, and suppressors.”
“The subjects claimed that they are in the area to protest election fraud, support President Trump, and acknowledged the possibility of violence if approached by counter-protesters,” the Secret Service wrote.
A separate redacted email obtained by CREW that circulated within the Secret Service on January 5 shows the agency acknowledging “multiple” online threats vowing to commit violence against Capitol police on the day of the upcoming Trump rally.
In the email, an unnamed official at the Secret Service’s Protective Intelligence Division flagged a series of threatening posts on Parler declaring that “Its [sic] time the DC Police get their ass whooped for being traitors in our nations [sic] capitol,” that “DC Police are the enemy of the people. No mercy to them on the 6th,” and other similarly violent anti-law enforcement posts.
The official sent the email to the Secret Service’s Protective Intelligence Operations Center and apparently Open Source Unit, per Politico, which was the first outlet to report the documents obtained by CREW.
The official requested that the email recipients “please forward to the necessary entities,” but it is unclear if they did so or if it was sent to the USCP.
The Secret Service declined to comment, citing “pending litigation.” The USCP did not respond to TPM’s inquiry.
The Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 saw a pro-Trump mob quickly overwhelm police officers at the scene, dozens of whom were bludgeoned or otherwise injured by the attackers.
The USCP has blamed its weak response to the siege on lack of intel, saying that the agency was not warned of the sheer magnitude of the potential violence that exploded that day.
Read the emails below:
Wow. They sent an email. I am impressed. /s
OK…that clears it up. Let’s move on…
This was reported as everyone tried to cover their ass after this happened. Why is it back again seven months later?
They overheard Trump, and ratted away.
But, but,…Blue Lives Matter!