Even as questions continue to mount about police involvement with the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, we’re already hearing calls, including from leading Democrats and major media outlets, to expand police powers by enacting sweeping new “anti-terrorism” laws.
But if law enforcement enabled or even assisted the siege, that would be exactly the wrong thing to do. This was one of the greatest law enforcement failures in U.S. history, and we need to get to the bottom of it.
The Intercept has been digging into the links between police and white supremacists for months, long before last week’s riots. Now we’re racing to pull back the curtain on what really happened on January 6 — before it becomes another 9/11-like excuse for rolling back civil liberties.
The reporting we’re working on now is some of the most complex and time-consuming in The Intercept’s history. Getting this story right is so important to the future of our democracy, and we don’t want anyone on our team worrying about legal, technology, or security expenses.
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Even with a bloated post-9/11 surveillance and domestic security apparatus, federal agencies failed to adequately prepare for the attack, and officials still haven’t addressed videos showing police officers opening barricades and welcoming people into the Capitol, taking selfies, and giving directions to rioters.
The Intercept has already uncovered frighteningly widespread links between law enforcement and far-right militia groups, like the police in Kenosha who said they “appreciate” the armed vigilantes who showed up at Black Lives Matter protests. Now we are preparing a flood of Freedom of Information Act requests, and our attorneys are standing by, ready to demand the transparency required by law.
Getting to the bottom of these failures won’t be cheap or easy, and as a nonprofit media outlet, we are counting on you to help fund this effort.
