U.S. SECURITY EXECS BLAME BAD INTEL FOR BLOODY CAPITOL SIEGE

Testifying publicly for the first time about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, former security officials say that bad intelligence was to blame for the disastrous failure to anticipate the violent intentions of the mob.

That left them unprepared for the attack that was unlike anything they had ever seen before, Mary Grace Jalonick reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Officials, including the former chief of the Capitol Police, are blaming other federal agencies — and each other — for their failure to defend the building as supporters of then-President Donald Trump overwhelmed security barriers, breaking windows and doors and sending lawmakers fleeing from the House and Senate chambers.

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund described a scene that was “like nothing” he had seen in his 30 years of policing. “When the group arrived at the perimeter, they did not act like any group of protestors I had ever seen,” the ousted chief said, arguing that the insurrection was not the result of poor planning but of failures across the board from many agencies.

Congress was hearing for the first time from Capitol security officials about the massive law enforcement failures on Jan. 6, the day the violent mob laid siege to the building and interrupted the presidential electoral count.

“We must have the facts, and the answers are in this room,” Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar said at the beginning of the hearing. Three of the four scheduled to testify Tuesday before two Senate committees resigned under pressure immediately after the deadly attack, including Sund.

WEEKLY FEATURE : BONNER DYTOC SHOWS THE WAY IN STOCK PLAY