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U.S. officials said they underestimated the potential for Trump supporters to become a mob who quickly seized the U.S. Capitol for hours, making a series of decisions before the attack that backfired spectacularly.
U.S. officials said that while they took it seriously, they believed such language was common and often hyperbole among far-right groups, and didn’t realize the extent of the threat the protesters posed.
There was no comprehensive plan for how these federal and local agencies and the military would respond in the event of a breach at the Capitol, law-enforcement officials said.
“The whole thing felt woefully underprepared. It was like ‘get there and figure it out,’ ” said the official. “There wasn’t command and control. This is not how these things are supposed to go down.”
The official said he was stunned at the level of damage inside, calling it “disgusting.” He said the Capitol Police inside the complex seemed shellshocked when he and his colleagues arrived
Ahead of Capitol Riot, Police Miscalculated Risk
Federal and local law enforcement say they underestimated the threat posed to Congress, despite the evidence of plans online in the days leading up to the attack.
www.wsj.com