Broad security failures during US Capitol riot remain: Report

Watchdog report says poor equipment, preparation, communication and morale helped riot, and the issues remain a concern.

A blistering internal report by the US Capitol Police describes a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared for the January 6 insurrection — riot shields that shattered upon impact, expired weapons that could not be used, inadequate training and an intelligence division that had few set standards. The watchdog report released internally last month, obtained by The Associated Press before a congressional hearing Thursday, adds to what is already known about broader security and intelligence failures that Congress has been investigating since hundreds of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters laid siege to the Capitol. In an extensive and detailed timeline of that day, the report describes conversations between officials as they disagreed on whether National Guard forces were necessary to back up the understaffed Capitol Police force. It quotes an Army official as telling then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund that “we don’t like the optics of the National Guard standing in a line at the Capitol” after the insurrectionists had already broken in.