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Capitol Police Deficient at Monitoring Threats, Watchdog Says

Associated Press

   The Capitol Police force was hobbled by inadequate intelligence
   gathering ahead of the January 6 siege, the department's watchdog told
   Congress on Monday, alarming lawmakers who are concerned for their
   safety amid rising threats against members of Congress.

   Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton testified in the first
   of three House hearings this week on what went wrong during the January
   6 insurrection. Lawmakers are investigating the riots as they
   contemplate overhauling security, and Bolton has recommended that the
   Capitol Police create a new stand-alone division that would gather
   intelligence about threats and protect members similar to how the U.S.
   Secret Service protects the president.

   Many lawmakers are receiving threats and worry for their safety after
   the U.S. Capitol was so easily breached on January 6 by supporters of
   then-President Donald Trump who wanted to overturn the election. The
   rioters were hunting for lawmakers, calling out House Speaker Nancy
   Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence by name as they roamed the
   building and members fled the House and Senate.
   FILE - Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sit inside the office
   of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as they protest inside the
   U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.

   In a statement Friday, the Capitol Police said that there has been a
   107% increase in threats against members of Congress this year compared
   with 2020 and "provided the unique threat environment we currently live
   in, the department is confident the number of cases will continue to
   increase."

   A new inspector general report, one of several Bolton is preparing in
   response to the insurrection, said the department "has experienced
   issues" because of the increase in threats over the last five years and
   recommended the force hire more agents who are dedicated to assessing
   threats. Bolton said there were multiple deficiencies that led to a
   lack of communication and guidance ahead of the siege.

   Bolton told the panel that the Capitol Police is in the process of
   opening up two regional offices so it can better protect lawmakers at
   home. The department confirmed that on Monday, saying they will be
   opening up offices in San Francisco and Miami.
   FILE - Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., speaks on the floor of the House of
   Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in this April 23,
   2020, image from video.

   Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the committee, said
   he hopes they open up more offices around the country and prosecute
   more people who are making the threats. He noted that he has received
   threats himself -- a man was arrested in 2019 for threatening to shoot
   him.

   "So I know firsthand that these threats are real, and that the people
   making these threats intend to act on them," Davis said. "I do believe
   a truly more aggressive enforcement stance, more arrests and more
   prosecutions of those who make violent threats and intend to carry them
   out would be a very strong deterrent."

   In Friday's statement, the Capitol Police said they have already taken
   "significant steps" to improve counterintelligence and agreed that a
   stand-alone intelligence division would be helpful, but said they'd
   need more money to achieve it. The statement said the Capitol Police
   have about 30 agents and analysts doing the same job as more than 100
   in the Secret Service, while the Capitol Police had 9,000 cases in 2020
   and the Secret Service had 8,000.

   The House is also scheduled to hear this week from former acting
   Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who will testify about his role
   in approving National Guard troops during the insurrection. The troops
   did not arrive until several hours after the riots began, a subject
   that has attracted intense interest in Congress.

   Miller is expected to appear Wednesday before the House Oversight
   Committee alongside former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and
   District of Columbia Police Chief Robert Contee III. All three were
   part of frantic meetings that day as Capitol Police begged for backup.