“I think it’s important to note that we planned this entire hearing on a bipartisan basis. That’s because the stakes are so high and we want this, and I say this to our witnesses as well, we want this to be as constructive as possible because in order to figure out the solutions, so this doesn’t happen again, we must have the facts.” “On Jan. 6, we anticipated an event similar to the Million MAGA March that took place on Nov. 14, where we would likely face groups fighting among one another. I proceeded to the Rotunda where I noticed a heavy smoke-like residue, and smelled what I believe to be military-grade CS gas, a familiar smell. It was mixed with fire extinguisher spray deployed by rioters. The rioters continued to deploy CS into the Rotunda. Officers received a lot of gas exposure, which is worse inside the building than outside because there’s nowhere for it to go. I received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day.” “The events I witnessed on Jan. 6 was the worst attack on law enforcement and our democracy that I’ve seen in my entire career. I witnessed insurgents beating police officers with fists, pipes, sticks, bats, metal barricades and flagpoles. These criminals came prepared for war. They came with their own radio system to coordinate the attack. Based on the intelligence that we received, we planned for an increased level of violence at the Capitol. And that some participants may be armed, but none of the intelligence we received predicted what actually occurred.” “At 2:22 p.m., a call was convened with among others, myself, leadership of the U.S. Capitol Police, the National Guard and the Department of the Army. I was surprised at the reluctance to immediately send the National Guard to the Capitol grounds. In the meantime, by 2:30 p.m., the District had requested additional officers from as far away as New Jersey, and issued notice of an emergency citywide curfew beginning at 6 p.m.” “Based on the intelligence, we all believed that the plan met the threat. And that we were prepared. We now know that we had the wrong plan. As one of the senior security leaders responsible for the event, I am accountable for that. I accept that responsibility. And as you know, I have resigned my position. Much has been said about whether optics affected my judgment in a Jan. 4 telephone call with Chief Sund and Senate sergeant-at arms Stenger about a National Guard offer to incorporate 125 unarmed National Guard troops into the security plan. Let me be clear, optics, as portrayed in the media, played no role whatsoever in my decisions about security. And any suggestion to the contrary is false. Safety was always paramount when making security plans for Jan 6.”
