Further proving that cops just straight-up don’t see angry, vitriolic white people as a threat, it was revealed during a committee hearing regarding the Capitol riot that a Capitol Police officer allegedly told “all outside units” to only monitor for anti-Trump protesters on the morning of Jan. 6.
According to CNN, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Administration Committee, described the radio transmission with the order during a hearing regarding the security failures that led to the Capitol riot.
“Attention all units on the field, we’re not looking for any pro-Trump in the crowd. We’re only looking for any anti pro-Trump who want to start a fight,” a Capitol Police officer allegedly said during a transmission on the morning of the riot.
A spokesman for the Capitol Police said that the message went out around 8 a.m. on Jan. 6 and was intended as an instruction for officers to be on the lookout for skirmishes between Trump supporters and counter-protesters.
From CNN:
Neither Capitol Police nor Congress has released the audio of the broadcast, despite requests to do so.
US Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton said he had not yet read internal reports from the investigation — which CNN reported last month involves allegations against 36 officers — but planned to do so once the review was completed.
A committee aide told CNN that Lofgren’s line of questioning underscores the point that the USCP, based on the available intelligence at the time, had ample reason to expect violence from pro-Trump protestors directed at the Capitol and lawmakers but “despite this and all the rhetoric online ... USCP supervisors on the morning of 1/6 were apparently still advising their front line officers to focus on and prioritize anti-Trump protesters.”
It’s been said before, but the Capitol riot really was one of the largest scale instances of watching whiteness work. Despite the fact that just two days before the riot, a group of Proud Boys and Trump supporters vandalized multiple Black churches in D.C., they still didn’t take them seriously as a threat.
I just find it fascinating that they were less concerned about thousands of angry white folks who were all hopped up on a lie, than they were about the people who were telling those folks “Bruh, y’all are fucking stupid.”
While six officers were initially suspended after the riot, it’s unclear if any of them faced further disciplinary action beyond that. One officer was suspended for taking a selfie with the rioters in the Capitol, and another for popping on a “Make America Great Again” hat and directing rioters through the Capitol.
Please, tell me again about how we need law and order, though.
DISCUSSION
You know, I know that Trump and his henchmen swayed how policing was one on 1/6. Everyone with two brain cells to rub together gets that.
Perhaps some emphasis on stories in the news? Like, why isn’t the media talking about how Bryant was about to stick a blade into another person when she was shot?
Or perhaps, I dunno, let’s talk about the Thompson kid. Where today they released the 911 tape confirming that the cops were told he was armed. Or the video showing the gun in his pocket when confronted. Or that yes, that gun actually did go off before the police fired their weapons (and one cop shot Thompson and the school resource officer).
Or maybe what happened in CA with the black man who was shot yesterday? Ok, he was wielding a club. I haven’t found a decent story yet with details on how hard they tried to disarm him before shooting.
But do we really need to know more about how Orange Man fucked with the Capital Police to make his coup attempt that much easier?