A new 122-page report from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds numerous federal agencies identified possible and credible threats surrounding the January 6, 2021 insurrection, including at least two threats against Democratic Members of Congress.
The GAO report focuses on threats not being shared with other government agencies before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“The FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police had seen ‘threats that were true or credible’ days ahead of the assault on the Capitol building, the report said,” CBS News reports. “But much as with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a failure by multiple agencies to share information and connect dots left those securing the Capitol unprepared for the onslaught.”
The report names seven federal agencies but singles out the FBI, which it says “did not consistently follow policies for processing tips.”
The other agencies include the Dept. of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service, Park Police, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the Postal Inspection Service.
The GAO’s summary says that the “FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) did not consistently follow agency policies or procedures for processing tips or potential threats because they did not have controls to ensure compliance with policies.”
It also reveals that “Capitol Police did not share threat products with its frontline officers.”
One credible threat that was shared came from the New York State Intelligence Center on December 28, 2020. It “included a social media post in which a user described intent to conduct an attack in Washington, D.C. on January 6—targeting Democratic members of Congress.”
Another threat against Democrats, which appears to have been investigated by the FBI and Capitol Police, came on January 5, 2021, when “Capitol Police received a tip regarding plans to block and confront Democratic members of Congress from entering the Capitol through the tunnel system via the basement of the Library of Congress.”
The report does not appear to mention any credible threats against Republicans, although it does mention a social media post from a member of the Proud Boys “criticizing the Republican Party for supposedly ‘selling out’ its conservative supporters.”