| Some explanation of how 11:29 - Jan 7 with 1166 views | Guthrum |
the Trumpist crowd was able to overrun the Capitol Police yesterday (from Politico):
Stephen Voss, photographer: I arrived at the Capitol’s west side. I was there only 10 minutes before I started seeing people using the metal barricades to push toward the Capitol. At 2:04, the Capitol police were spraying pepper spray toward the crowd and the crowd was fighting back. One rioter also sprayed the police with pepper spray.
Stephen Voss [outside]: The police were getting it hard; they didn’t have a lot of equipment. I saw one policewoman who had no helmet, no shield, no baton. She’d been sprayed in the face with pepper spray and she looked like she was in agony but she was holding her ground. Rioters kept running toward the police. I watched this for about 40 minutes. When some of the rioters would get hit with pepper spray, they’d fall back and others would shout, “We need more people on the line.” It was an all-out battle for a while with a lot of pepper spray in the air. The police had very few gas masks.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/07/capitol-storming-siege-congres
I think it's fair to say that while everyone was expecting violence on the streets, they perhaps were not mentally prepared for a full-scale assault on the seat of Congress, desecrating a core site for not just democracy, but the whole US psyche. I think we in the UK would be quite shocked and surprised if a demonstration suddenly tried to break into the Houses of Parliament. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 11:31 - Jan 7 with 1136 views | DinDjarin |
Schoolboy error.
Why storm the front when you can try and blow it up from beneath. |  | | |
| Some explanation of how on 11:34 - Jan 7 with 1116 views | Guthrum |
| Some explanation of how on 11:31 - Jan 7 by DinDjarin |
Schoolboy error.
Why storm the front when you can try and blow it up from beneath. |
It looks like they bypassed the front door and climbed in the first floor.
Stephen Voss: Some in the crowd on the west side of the Capitol were throwing water bottles. I saw one policeman holding a pepper-spray gun while blood ran down his cheek. I saw rioters on the north side of the Capitol climbing a wall toward an elevated walkway that would give them access to a door to the Capitol. | |
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| Some explanation of how on 11:44 - Jan 7 with 1089 views | Steve_M |
The failings seem to have been at a more senior level, I'm wary of taking isolated clips of individual officers and blaming them even those posing for selfies with protesters might justifiably argue they were trying to defuse a tense situation. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 11:50 - Jan 7 with 1066 views | giant_stow |
| Some explanation of how on 11:44 - Jan 7 by Steve_M |
The failings seem to have been at a more senior level, I'm wary of taking isolated clips of individual officers and blaming them even those posing for selfies with protesters might justifiably argue they were trying to defuse a tense situation. |
Compared with the small army that met the BLM protests a while back, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the door was left ajar for yesterday's protests. The intial refusal to send in the local national guard was very sus, as was the fact that Maryland's govenor (I think?) felt he/she had to send theirs instead. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 11:51 - Jan 7 with 1066 views | stantheman |
TV footage this morning actually showed police moving barriers to let demonstrators through. Imagine that wouldn't have happened if the demonstrators were black. |  | | |
| Some explanation of how on 11:57 - Jan 7 with 1040 views | Guthrum |
| Some explanation of how on 11:44 - Jan 7 by Steve_M |
The failings seem to have been at a more senior level, I'm wary of taking isolated clips of individual officers and blaming them even those posing for selfies with protesters might justifiably argue they were trying to defuse a tense situation. |
Absolutely. The CP seem to have been under-strength and poorly equipped for a full-scale defence of the Capitol against a large and semi-armed* mob.
Perhaps the superiors were psychologically unprepared for things escalating to that degree. One tactical advantage populist leaders often have is that those dealing with them are still operating within normal parameters, while they happily break the rules. Wrong-foots the opposition almost every time.
* Teargas and improvised weapons, if not actual firearms. | |
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| Some explanation of how on 12:00 - Jan 7 with 1037 views | Swansea_Blue |
And have you seen the YouGov poll? Something like 68% of Republican voters think that wasn't an attack on democracy, and 45% actually support the storming of the Capitol.
It's a cult. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 12:14 - Jan 7 with 992 views | Basuco |
| Some explanation of how on 11:51 - Jan 7 by stantheman |
TV footage this morning actually showed police moving barriers to let demonstrators through. Imagine that wouldn't have happened if the demonstrators were black. |
Saw that on twitter last night, shocking. |  | | |
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| Some explanation of how on 12:20 - Jan 7 with 981 views | ElderGrizzly |
There was intelligence the US Government had of planning in process for the 'attack' on the Capitol for 2 weeks. Methods to be used, which entrances were weaker etc
All was being discussed on Trump friendly, alt-right websites but for whatever reason they did not take it seriously.
Add onto the police literally opening the fences to let them in and the woeful level of staffing, you'd almost think they wanted it to happen. |  | | |
| Some explanation of how on 12:25 - Jan 7 with 971 views | BlueBadger |
| Some explanation of how on 12:20 - Jan 7 by ElderGrizzly |
There was intelligence the US Government had of planning in process for the 'attack' on the Capitol for 2 weeks. Methods to be used, which entrances were weaker etc
All was being discussed on Trump friendly, alt-right websites but for whatever reason they did not take it seriously.
Add onto the police literally opening the fences to let them in and the woeful level of staffing, you'd almost think they wanted it to happen. |
This was a choice. the escalating rhetoric and behaviour of Trump cultists over the past few weeks has strongly suggested something violent was coming. This was a choice not to have effective civil protection on the streets from the morning. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 12:25 - Jan 7 with 964 views | stantheman |
| Some explanation of how on 12:00 - Jan 7 by Swansea_Blue |
And have you seen the YouGov poll? Something like 68% of Republican voters think that wasn't an attack on democracy, and 45% actually support the storming of the Capitol.
It's a cult. |
Just a lot of white supremacists. | | | |
| Some explanation of how on 12:27 - Jan 7 with 956 views | Basuco |
| Some explanation of how on 11:50 - Jan 7 by giant_stow |
Compared with the small army that met the BLM protests a while back, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the door was left ajar for yesterday's protests. The intial refusal to send in the local national guard was very sus, as was the fact that Maryland's govenor (I think?) felt he/she had to send theirs instead. |
It seemed to take a very long time for any form of meaningful response from the police. | | | |
| Some explanation of how on 12:29 - Jan 7 with 950 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Some explanation of how on 12:27 - Jan 7 by Basuco |
It seemed to take a very long time for any form of meaningful response from the police. |
And Trump outright refused to send the National Guard when asked.
Pence had to do so, which he doesn't actually have the authority to do so. Its why there was talk about 25th Amendment last night, because this was Pence taking on some of the power of the President | | | |
| Some explanation of how on 12:32 - Jan 7 with 936 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Some explanation of how on 12:25 - Jan 7 by BlueBadger |
This was a choice. the escalating rhetoric and behaviour of Trump cultists over the past few weeks has strongly suggested something violent was coming. This was a choice not to have effective civil protection on the streets from the morning. |
Absolutely. Members of congress have said this morning they have seen the intelligence behind the planning from Trump's supporters
There is now an investigation into how it happened which i'm sure is going to bring up some things the GOP won't want to hear/see | | | |
| Some explanation of how on 12:34 - Jan 7 with 924 views | Pendejo |
| Some explanation of how on 12:25 - Jan 7 by BlueBadger |
This was a choice. the escalating rhetoric and behaviour of Trump cultists over the past few weeks has strongly suggested something violent was coming. This was a choice not to have effective civil protection on the streets from the morning. |
Conspiracy theory time...
Whose choice?
1. Properly defend the building - crack a few numbskull heads, create martyrs enables right wing recruitment
2. Deliberately not defend the building - outrage the silent majority, places right wing recruitment in check... Other than the real right wing nut jobs who are probably whooping "Golly gee let's have another go!"
Or, of course it could just have been incompetence. |  |
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| Some explanation of how on 13:00 - Jan 7 with 892 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Some explanation of how on 12:34 - Jan 7 by Pendejo |
Conspiracy theory time...
Whose choice?
1. Properly defend the building - crack a few numbskull heads, create martyrs enables right wing recruitment
2. Deliberately not defend the building - outrage the silent majority, places right wing recruitment in check... Other than the real right wing nut jobs who are probably whooping "Golly gee let's have another go!"
Or, of course it could just have been incompetence. |
They 'allowed' hundreds of heavily armed protestors to enter the Capitol without as much of a tickle, where over 500 sitting elected officials, including the VP were debating the election result.
On any other day, the Capitol is like a fortress. I've been there on work 20+ times.
They simply didn't prepare for a known event. Incompetence or planned conspiracy we will probably never know, but when members of congress are saying they had been seeing intelligence about the attack for a couple of weeks, why was nothing done to increase security?
Why did the President refuse to send in the National Guard when requested? Pence had to step in and over rule. | | | |
| Some explanation of how on 13:03 - Jan 7 with 882 views | DanTheMan |
It's amazing how they didn't prepare for a protest that was in the making for a good month but somehow always manage to be much more well prepared for other much more organic protests. |  |
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