Washington:
The U.S. Capitol Police Chief and Attorney General reassured Americans on Wednesday that they have addressed the collapse in security behind the Jan. 6 attack on Congress — even though the anger and conspiracy theories fueling the insurgency are stronger than ever.
On the eve of the first anniversary, the man in charge of Capitol security, Thomas Manger, said his troops would not be caught unprepared again, such as when thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed Congress to try to certify Joe. to stop Biden’s supporters. presidential victory.
“I have every confidence that the US Capitol Police is a stronger, more prepared law enforcement agency,” Manger told a Senate hearing, recalling the desperate battle its officers waged against “a violent mob and vastly outnumbered. “
Later, Attorney General Merrick Garland will detail efforts to “hold those responsible” for the chaos and the “steadfast commitment of law enforcement to defend Americans and American democracy,” according to the Justice Department.
Despite hundreds of criminal investigations into the unrest, reforming the Capitol’s police force and stockpiling riot gear in the event of a repeat attack, Biden will deliver the anniversary keynote speech on Thursday, knowing much of the country has yet to face the uprising. always celebrating.
To underscore the staggering political divisions, senior Republicans appear to be skipping Thursday’s commemorations organized by the Democrat-led Congress, which include Biden’s Statuary Hall address and a prayer vigil.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was due to travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the funeral of the late Senator Johnny Isakson, his office said.
Trump himself continues to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen by Biden — a conspiracy theory dismantled in multiple court findings and vote recounts. He had scheduled a press conference at his Florida home on Thursday to steal the spotlight, but abruptly abandoned the plan on Tuesday in a statement in which he nevertheless continued to claim the 2020 election was a “crime.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak from the Capitol, the setting during the turmoil of near-unbelievable scenes when Trump supporters fought past police last year to invade the heart of American democracy.
“He will speak about the historic significance of January 6, what it means to the country a year later,” said Jen Psaki, White House press secretary.
‘Hand in hand’
In his testimony, Manger paid tribute to his ill-prepared officers as they tried to confront angry Trump supporters, who poured over police barricades, broke windows to enter the Capitol, then roamed the halls and vandalized offices and the room itself. .
For hours as the battle unfolded, lawmakers fled to safety or hid behind barricaded doors. Trump Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Capitol to chair the certification of Biden’s victory, fled when attackers chanted “hang Mike Pence.”
The police “displayed resilience, fortitude and unimaginable courage. Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, they fought under conditions I have never experienced in my four decades of law enforcement,” Manger said.
“Their eyes inflamed by repeated shots of pepper and bear spray, their bodies attacked and beaten with bricks, flagpoles, rebar, pipes, bats, sticks, tasers, and other weapons, they fought for more than four hours,” he said.
“They fought hand in hand, used ingenuity and showed incredible courage, they didn’t give up. Congress was able to do its job and not a single member or staff was physically harmed.”
‘Unparalleled’
While Trump is withdrawing from the public spotlight on the anniversary itself, he said he would return to the issue at a rally scheduled for January 15 in Arizona.
Despite losing more than seven million votes to Biden, Trump continues to insist he was the real winner in 2020.
The claim is just the most incendiary element of a wider attack on Biden on everything from immigration to Covid-19, all of which amounts to what looks very much like an undisclosed attempt to take back power in 2024.
It’s a campaign that Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, calls “unprecedented in American history.”
“No former president has tried to do so much to discredit his successor and the democratic process,” Tobias said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)