Former Secret Service agents told the Daily Caller that the agency’s failures on Jan. 6, 2021, were the result of leadership that disregarded field agents’ concerns, coupled with inconsistent communication protocols and insufficient preparation.
A report released on Jul. 31 by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) highlighted the agency’s shortcomings during the Capitol riot.
The former agents noted that a significant breakdown in inter-agency communication contributed to gaps in intelligence gathering and coordination between the Secret Service and the United States Capitol Police (USCP).
“The bottom line that caused it all is, whether it’s a combination of the Capitol Police and the Secret Service or ultimately, the entity responsible for protection, were not prepared, or did not anticipate accurately, the necessary manpower,” former Secret Service agent Dean Peterson told the Caller. “Because of it, they were kind of caught off guard, and that led to some poor, in-the-moment decisions.”
BREAKING 🚨 Donald Trump stuns Pennsylvania after the assass*nation attempt five weeks ago
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MAGA PATRIOTS ARE HERE SUPPORTING THE RIGHTFUL PRESIDENT pic.twitter.com/fTrSx65kNQ
— Marjorie Taylor Greene Press Release (Parody) (@MTGrepp) August 17, 2024
According to Peterson, the potential for chaos was evident, making the mishaps “inexcusable.”
“I’m shocked, I guess, by what the intelligence community may or may not be communicating. I would think … you don’t need to be a part of these things and have intimate knowledge to have this perspective of like, ‘Wow, this is an unusual election circumstance,’” Peterson said.
The Secret Service stated that they fully cooperated with the OIG and have “taken steps to implement the majority of the recommendations” outlined in the report, according to a statement provided to the Daily Caller.
“The United States Secret Service (USSS) has a no-fail mission to protect our nation’s leaders. The actions taken by our agents on Jan. 6, 2021 demonstrated their dedication to preventing harm to Secret Service protectees and assisting the U.S. Capitol Police,” the agency said. “We are continually improving protectee operations and benefit from oversight and investigations.”
The OIG report highlights one instance of the agency’s failures, noting that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was allowed to come within 20 feet of a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) building in Washington, D.C.
According to the report, the agency deployed two separate canine teams to inspect the DNC building on the morning of January 6, where Capitol Police later discovered the bomb. However, no Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was assigned, which surprised agents on the ground.
In this clip we see whoever is manning the Capitol Police cameras finally responds to the information regarding the pipe bomb, and zooms into the benches where the pipe bomb was planted.
Notice the empty coffee cup on the bench right next to the pipe bomb. January 6 was a very… pic.twitter.com/h4tWjhpDga
— Darren J. Beattie 🌐 (@DarrenJBeattie) January 18, 2024
The Secret Service’s Operations Unit explained that they didn’t request an EOD team due to a Department of Defense (DoD) rule requiring a 72-hour notice for such requests. However, the OIG found seven instances where EOD support was requested and approved despite the notice being submitted less than 72 hours before a protectee’s visit.
Here we show that the DNC surveillance footage is completely corrupted to prevent us from having a clear shot of the suspect. pic.twitter.com/ax7Yw6LHZJ
— Darren J. Beattie 🌐 (@DarrenJBeattie) January 18, 2024
“Regardless if it’s 72 hours or not, the job still needs to get done. If we’ve got a protectee that’s traveling to a location, the whole 72-hour thing, to me, doesn’t make sense,” Michael Matranga told the Daily Caller.
