BY : EMILY BROWN ON : 11 JAN 2021
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Black police officers tasked with protecting the US Capitol have implied their bosses left them to fend for themselves and that other officers were ‘catering’ to racist rioters.
Hundreds of Donald Trump supporters formed the mob that stormed the Capitol building last week following a rally from the president in which he encouraged them to protest the election results.
One officer, who chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from his superiors, found out about plans to infiltrate the building when a friend sent him an Instagram screenshot from the far-right, neo-fascist group the Proud Boys, which stated: ‘We’re breaching the Capitol today, guys. I hope y’all ready.’
Black police officers tasked with protecting the US Capitol have implied their bosses left them to fend for themselves and that other officers were ‘catering’ to racist rioters.
Hundreds of Donald Trump supporters formed the mob that stormed the Capitol building last week following a rally from the president in which he encouraged them to protest the election results.
One officer, who chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from his superiors, found out about plans to infiltrate the building when a friend sent him an Instagram screenshot from the far-right, neo-fascist group the Proud Boys, which stated: ‘We’re breaching the Capitol today, guys. I hope y’all ready.’
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The Capitol police department’s management reportedly told officers to prepare as if it was any other protest, but it soon became clear that was not enough. The officer and another Black member of law enforcement told Buzzfeed News they were repeatedly called the N-word by Trump’s supporters as they attempted to fight off the invasion.
Though images appeared to show some officers letting the mob into the Capitol without resistance, one of the officers interviewed said they fought hard for two hours before protestors eventually gained access to the building.
The officer, who has been with the department for more than a decade, claimed that there were members of police departments from across the country among the crowd of Trump supporters and far-right activists attempting to take over the building.
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Rather than help their fellow members of law enforcement put a stop to the insurrection, the officers in the crowd allegedly flashed their badges to the Capitol cop, telling him that the movement would help and that he should let them through.
Addressing a group of protesters outside the building, the veteran officer said: ‘You have the nerve to be holding a Blue Lives Matter flag, and you are out there f*cking us up.’
Recalling the harrowing events, he continued:
[One guy] pulled out his badge and he said, ‘We’re doing this for you.’ Another guy had his badge. So I was like, ‘Well, you gotta be kidding.’
Rather than help their fellow members of law enforcement put a stop to the insurrection, the officers in the crowd allegedly flashed their badges to the Capitol cop, telling him that the movement would help and that he should let them through.
Addressing a group of protesters outside the building, the veteran officer said: ‘You have the nerve to be holding a Blue Lives Matter flag, and you are out there f*cking us up.’
Recalling the harrowing events, he continued:
[One guy] pulled out his badge and he said, ‘We’re doing this for you.’ Another guy had his badge. So I was like, ‘Well, you gotta be kidding.’
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The second officer, a newer recruit to the department, reiterated his co-worker’s comments as he noted the difference between the response to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests and the riot seen last Wednesday, January 6.
He suggested some officers were making things easier for the protesters, saying:
There’s quite a big difference when the Black Lives Matter protests come up to the Capitol. [On Wednesday], some officers were catering to the rioters.
The Capitol officer also described moments in which protesters brandishing Blue Lives Matter flags in honour of the police launched themselves at officers.
He recalled telling them to ‘get away and stop’, to which the rioters responded by claiming they were ‘on [their] side’.
The second officer, a newer recruit to the department, reiterated his co-worker’s comments as he noted the difference between the response to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests and the riot seen last Wednesday, January 6.
He suggested some officers were making things easier for the protesters, saying:
There’s quite a big difference when the Black Lives Matter protests come up to the Capitol. [On Wednesday], some officers were catering to the rioters.
The Capitol officer also described moments in which protesters brandishing Blue Lives Matter flags in honour of the police launched themselves at officers.
He recalled telling them to ‘get away and stop’, to which the rioters responded by claiming they were ‘on [their] side’.
PA Images
He continued:
They’re saying this as I’m getting punched in my face by one of them … That happened to a lot of us. We were getting pepper-sprayed in the face by those protesters — I’m not going to even call them protesters — by those domestic terrorists.
The officer expressed his belief that the reception would have been vastly different if it were Black Americans who had stormed the Capitol, stressing: ‘If you’re going to treat a group of demonstrators for Black Lives Matters one way, then you should treat this group the same goddamn way.’
The officers claimed their managers had downplayed the seriousness of the invasion, for example by failing to tell them to bring in their pre-issued gas masks in the event of attacks.
The veteran officer suggested protesters seemed more prepared than the officers tasked with stopping them, saying:
That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us. They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs… They were prepared.
They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs, in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military.
He claimed his chief was ‘nowhere to be found’ while the department fought the rioters, saying he ‘didn’t hear him on the radio’ and that one of the other deputy chiefs ‘was not there’. Given the seriousness of the event, he questioned: ‘You don’t think it’s all hands on deck?’
He continued:
They’re saying this as I’m getting punched in my face by one of them … That happened to a lot of us. We were getting pepper-sprayed in the face by those protesters — I’m not going to even call them protesters — by those domestic terrorists.
The officer expressed his belief that the reception would have been vastly different if it were Black Americans who had stormed the Capitol, stressing: ‘If you’re going to treat a group of demonstrators for Black Lives Matters one way, then you should treat this group the same goddamn way.’
Addressing the lenient members of law enforcement, he added:
With this group you were being kind and nice and letting them walk back out. Some of them got arrested but a lot of them didn’t. Everyone who came into that Capitol should have been arrested regardless if they didn’t take anything.
The veteran officer suggested protesters seemed more prepared than the officers tasked with stopping them, saying:
That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us. They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs… They were prepared.
They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs, in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military.
He claimed his chief was ‘nowhere to be found’ while the department fought the rioters, saying he ‘didn’t hear him on the radio’ and that one of the other deputy chiefs ‘was not there’. Given the seriousness of the event, he questioned: ‘You don’t think it’s all hands on deck?’
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When the Capitol had finally been cleared, the veteran officer made sure his colleagues knew what was going through his mind as he broke down in the Rotunda, saying: ‘These are racist-ass terrorists. I got called [the N-word] 15 times today. Trump did this and we got all of these f*cking people in our department that voted for him. How the f*ck can you support him?’
Following the attack, US Capitol Police chief Steven Sund resigned from the role. The veteran officer welcomed the news, but believes more changes need to be made to Capitol security in the wake of the events.
When the Capitol had finally been cleared, the veteran officer made sure his colleagues knew what was going through his mind as he broke down in the Rotunda, saying: ‘These are racist-ass terrorists. I got called [the N-word] 15 times today. Trump did this and we got all of these f*cking people in our department that voted for him. How the f*ck can you support him?’
Following the attack, US Capitol Police chief Steven Sund resigned from the role. The veteran officer welcomed the news, but believes more changes need to be made to Capitol security in the wake of the events.
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