Current and former US law enforcement officials said the siege of the Capitol represents one of the gravest security lapses in recent US history
The chaos inside the US Capitol came after the police force that protects the legislative complex was overrun by a mob of Trump supporters in what law enforcement officials called a catastrophic failure to prepare.
For reasons that remained unclear as of early today, other arms of the US federal government's vast security apparatus did not arrive in force for hours as rioters besieged the seat of Congress. And National Guard reinforcements, summoned by the city’s mayor, were not mobilised until more than an hour after protesters had first breached the barricades.
"I truly had to suspend my disbelief because I didn’t think you could breach the Capitol," said Gainer. "The Capitol Police force is essentially a guard force, so it's hard to understand why they weren’t better prepared" "It looked like the Keystone Cops out there," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It should have never happened. We all knew in advance that these people were coming, and the first order of policing is presence."
The White House did not respond to requests for comment on Trump’s role in inspiring the violent protests or on the collapse of security at the Capitol. After a perimeter was quickly breached, Capitol Police officers seemed to be alone in battling the extremists on the building’s steps, according to witness accounts and video from the scene.
That was about 45 minutes after the rioters had breached the first barricade. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller activated the full DC National Guard at about 2.30pm, the official said. One woman was shot and later died. Pipe bombs were recovered at the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said. He didn’t explain what prompted officers to shoot the woman. While the mob invasion of the Capitol was unprecedented, there were ample warning signs in the days leading up to the protests.