The truth about the Capitol riot

The violent chaos of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol demands tough analysis and clear answers about what happened during the attack and leading up to it. But finding the truth will be difficult.

That was evident at a Senate hearing Tuesday, during often-conflicting testimony from four law enforcement officials who dealt with the uprising. The officials agreed on some big-picture elements — that the riot was an insurrection planned in advance by some of its participants, including white supremacists and other extremists, and that the law enforcement response was hampered by an intelligence breakdown. But they disagreed on key details that must be resolved in order to formulate a plan to prevent or better handle another attack.

Most notably, former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and former sergeants-at arms Paul Irving in the House and Michael Stenger in the Senate each delivered contradictory accounts of a three-way phone call during the attack. Sund said he was requesting help from the National Guard. Adding to the confusion, both he and Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said the Pentagon was reluctant to deploy the Guard because of the "optics" of armed troops at the Capitol. There is no doubt the Guard arrived late; understanding why that happened is critical to making sure it doesn’t happen again.

Perhaps the most disturbing revelation was that an FBI report warning of extremist groups prepping for "war" on Jan. 6 was only sent to the Capitol Police intelligence unit the night before. And it was never shown to Sund, Irving or Stenger. That is an unfathomable breakdown in communications. Compounding that error, the report was emailed by the FBI. As Contee, who is the leader of the city police, noted, information of that magnitude warrants direct phone calls.

The Homeland Security and Rules and Administration committees that held Tuesday’s joint hearing say they plan more sessions involving FBI and Pentagon representatives. Hopefully, that will fill in a picture now outlined only in broad strokes. What’s certain from testimony so far: Capitol Police officers need better riot training, intelligence must be shared more promptly and efficiently between and within law enforcement agencies, and procedures for calling up the National Guard during a crisis must be streamlined to reduce response time.

There is much to be learned. This and other inquiries must continue to advance — like the criminal investigations of the rioters, the trials of those already charged, and the probe into extremism and white supremacism promised by Attorney General-nominee Merrick Garland during his Monday confirmation hearing.

One issue to resolve involves how best to protect the Capitol in the future without keeping it the fortress it is today. All Americans should have access to the citadel of our democracy, but it’s hard to forget the amazement in Sund’s voice when he talked about discovering that some Jan. 6 rioters had brought with them climbing gear, explosives, and chemical spray. They were "prepared for war," he said.

The challenge for our nation now is to be ready.

— The editorial board