Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Khalid Johnson in MAGA CAP, suspended: Video screen shot, Google
By Glynn Wilson –
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Buried under the sad news on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America on Saturday, and an inconclusive declassified report on the role of Saudi Arabia in the attacks, the U.S. Capitol Police quietly published a short report on the role some officers played in the Jan. 6 insurrection and indicated disciplinary action.
It is clear from this report that the new leadership of the secretive police agency — not subject to the Freedom of Information Act — will continue the coverup of the role officers played on the side of Trump insurrectionists in obtaining access to the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
In a simple, short breaking news article in The New York Times on Saturday, the statement by the U.S. Capitol Police is taken at face value.
“Capitol Police investigators have recommended disciplinary action against six police officers for their actions during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop the certification of President Biden’s victory,” the Times reported.
Three officers were singled out for unbecoming conduct, one officer for failure to comply with directives, one officer for improper remarks and one officer for improper dissemination of information, the Capitol Police said in a statement issued Saturday, as most of the news media and people around the country were focused on the anniversary coverage of 9/11.
None of the officers, or details about the recommended penalties, were identified. And no criminal charges will be filed, after the U.S. attorney’s office did not find sufficient evidence to do so, according to the press release.
The internal inquiry, which was conducted by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, covered 38 investigations into officers whose conduct was called into question, although investigators failed to identify 12 officers involved in the cases.
One investigation, into an unidentified official who was “accused of unsatisfactory performance and conduct unbecoming,” remains open, according to the statement.
“The security failures stemming from the Jan. 6 breach has cast scrutiny on the secretive agency, which is responsible for protecting the Capitol complex,” the Times reports.
“Even as the majority of the police force grapple with the trauma of the attack, videos widely circulating on social media appeared to show some officers treating the rioters sympathetically or doing little to stop them from entering the complex.”
That is quite an understatement. Videos showed one officer wearing a MAGA cap, removing barricades on the Capitol grounds and ushering in the charging crowd of demonstrators, even negotiating with the Trump supporters many have argued were guilty of sedition or even treason. At the very least they should be tried as “domestic terrorists.”
In perhaps the most memorable remarks on the day America commemorated 20 years since 9/11, former President George W. Bush alluded to the Capitol insurrectionists as he spoke at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.
“We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within. There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home,” Bush said. “But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.”
Another video — taken by a reporter from The New Yorker who appeared to be imbedded with the Proud Boys and the QAnon shaman — shows them entering the building early on from the East side of the Capitol and being escorted into the Senate chamber — by a Capitol Police officer. They did not “break into” the building. They were escorted in by Capitol Police.
The footage people saw on CNN was mostly on the south side of the Capitol, and the battle between DC Metro Police and the insurrectionists took place on the west side of the building.
After the insurrection, the Capitol Police agency announced it would open an investigation, with at least six officers suspended with pay at the time and at least 30 more under investigation for improper conduct.
Our story was the definitive version of that story at the time.
NAJ: Capitol Police Officers Face Investigation for Role in Capitol Insurrection
The police agency, which answers only to Congress, made public the results of its internal investigation on Saturday only after sharing details with the Justice Department, which in turn notified the lawyers representing clients charged in connection to “the riot,” the Times reports.
In its statement, the USCP says it provided the Department of Justice the administrative cases as part of the ongoing discovery production in the prosecution of the January 6 “rioters.” Officer names, witness names, and complainant names were redacted.
“After January 6, the United States Capitol Police promised to provide an update on its internal investigations related to the attack,” the release says.
“The USCP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) launched 38 internal investigations. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not find sufficient evidence that any of the officers committed a crime. OPR was able to identify the officers involved in 26 of the cases,” the release indicated, but “some complaints did not contain enough information to identify the officer at the center of the complaint.”
In 20 of the cases, no wrongdoing was found, it says, yet violations were sustained and disciplinary action was recommended in six cases: Three for conduct unbecoming, one for failure to comply with directives, one for improper remarks, and one for improper dissemination of information.
“Another case about an official who is accused of unsatisfactory performance and conduct unbecoming is still pending,” the statement says. “The administrative investigation started after a criminal investigation, in which charges were not filed.”
It says internal investigations, including any recommended disciplinary actions, as well as personnel matters “are not public information.”
Yet is also claims the department is “committed to accountability when officers fail to meet the standards governed by USCP policies and the Congressional Community’s expectations.”
“The six sustained cases should not diminish the heroic efforts of the United States Capitol Police officers,” the report says, clearly a case of framing and casting the role of the police in a positive light.
“On January 6, the bravery and courage exhibited by the vast majority of our employees was inspiring,” the agency says.
J. Thomas Manger, a veteran police chief from the Washington region, took over the department in July after the Capitol Police chief at the time, Steven Sund, resigned at the behest of House Speaker Nanci Pelosi, along with the Senate and House sergeants-at-arms, who seemed to play a role in the “inside job” and “stand down” orders issued at the time.
The police union also issued a vote of no confidence in agency leadership at the time.
We stand by our reporting at the time. No investigation has yet uncovered the real truth about what happened that day. It remains to be seen whether there are any public officials in Washington willing to tell it like it is for the American people to know the whole truth. So far George W. Bush has come the closest, but of course he is retired to the ranch in Texas.
We will see if the House Select Committee is up to the task.
The truth is this.
The Capitol Police lost the battle because some of them, including the leadership, were in on it. It was the DC Metro Police that saved their asses, even though they had proved racist too all year, beating up and jailing Antifa members and letting the Proud Boys go.
Republican members of Congress were also in on it. And it was called up by the commander-in-chief himself, ordering the Secretary of Defense to “stand down,” an order that was also heard on the internal communications of the Capitol Police, according to two Capitol Police officers who refuse to be identified. The internal communications of the Capitol Police are protected communications, not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
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Very sad and disgusting what these officers did.
The Capitol police are covering up for their own.
Yes, I believe they are. I was shocked, disappointed. Could not believe that was happening in OUR house. Thank you.