FBI Had Clear Warning Day Before Capitol Attack

Field office warned that extremists wanted 'war'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 12, 2021 2:15 PM CST
FBI Report Warned That Extremists Wanted 'War'
In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The FBI had ample warning that some of the people traveling to Washington, DC on Jan. 6 were intent on mayhem, according to a "situational information report" obtained by the Washington Post. A Jan. 5 warning from an FBI office in Norfolk, Virginia states that the office has received information on "calls to violence," with one thread online saying, "Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in ... Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal." The warning also noted that extremists had been sharing maps of the Capitol's tunnels and organizing rally points. Steven D'Antuono, head of the FBI's Washington field office, said Friday that there was "no indication" before the Capitol riot that there was anything planned "other than First Amendment-protected activity," NBC reports.

The warning seen by the Post, however, states that there is a chance the "protected activity could invite a violent reaction towards the subject individual or others in retaliation or with the goal of stopping the protected activity from occurring in the first instance." The Washington office was briefed on the warning the same day it was received, the Post reports. Former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, who is working with former national security officials to analyze information on the attack, is calling for an investigation. "There is a clear breakdown of communications and operational chain of command," he tells CNN. After the Post's story was published, the FBI said it had notified law enforcement within an hour of receiving the warning from the Virginia office, the AP reports. (More Capitol riot stories.)

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