Lawmakers vowed to investigate the police after mayhem erupted during a breach at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
By Associated Press
Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how Capitol police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed the mob to occupy and vandalize the building.
Four people died, a woman who was shot and three other people who suffered “medical emergencies” related to the breach, Washington, D.C., Police Chief Robert Contee said. Police said 52 people were arrested as of Wednesday night, including 26 on the Capitol grounds. Fourteen police officers were injured, Contee said.
Both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hours-long occupation of the Capitol complex before it was cleared Wednesday evening by law enforcement.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said the breach “raises grave security concerns,” adding that her committee “will work with House and Senate leaders to review the police response — and its preparedness — to a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump that stormed the Capitol and forced lawmakers into hiding.”
The incident forced lawmakers to crouch under desks and don gas marks, while police futilely tried to barricade the building. A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol, and Washington’s mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence.
The mob broke windows, entered both the Senate and House chambers and went into the offices of lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
A police spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, suggested there could be leadership changes at the Capitol police.