Blunt, Senate Committee Members, Release Investigational Report on U.S. Capitol Attack

A bipartisan investigational report has been released Tuesday about pro-Trump rioters attacking the U.S. Capitol in January. Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, was one of the members involved in producing it.

The report says Capitol Police intelligence failed to fully communicate the scope of the threat to its officers and other law enforcement. It says the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security did not issue a threat assessment warning of potential violence. Leaders from those agencies instead stressed the difficulty of detecting free speech from credible threats.

The report makes several recommendations, including providing all Capitol Police officers with ballistic helmets, gloves and gas masks; increasing Capitol Police funding to support extra training, adequate staffing, and equipment; and requiring a formal civil disturbance unit within the agency.

The Senate report does not assess former President Trump’s role in the uprising. A press release says Blunt plans to introduce legislation soon that would enable the Capitol Police chief to directly request the National Guard’s help in emergency situations rather than going through the Capitol Police Board.