Capitol Police whistleblowers who raised the alarm about intelligence failures that led up to the Jan. 6 insurrection have raised retalia...
Capitol Police whistleblowers who raised the alarm about intelligence failures that led up to the Jan. 6 insurrection have raised retaliation for their actions, according to their lawyer.
Officers have publicly alleged that crucial intelligence was not shared ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
And they have said that senior officials did not act to help officers once the violence unfolded.
But internal complaints about mismanagement reportedly go much further.
Now they are complaining they face retaliation and - in two cases - removal from the force.
'I represent a group of U.S. Capitol Police whistleblowers who worked in IICD [Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division] on January 6, 2021,' Dan Gebhardt of the Solomon Law Firm told Politico.
'They have made a multitude of internal complaints regarding gross mismanagement and intelligence failures by certain IICD managers that contributed to the events of January 6, 2021.
'As a result, there have been multiple retaliatory actions against the whistleblowers, including two proposed removals.'
Capitol Police faced the wrath of Trump supporters on Jan. 6 but a series of whistleblower reports suggest intelligence and management failures meant they were ill-prepared
Now officers are complaining that they face retaliation for raising concerns, according to an employment lawyer representing them
He offered no further details about the nature of the retaliation they faced, apart from the two potential removals.
'My clients are experiencing retaliation for speaking out about Capitol Police management failures related to January 6, 2021,' he added.
The response of Capitol Police as the violence unfolded has been under intense scrutiny.
A devastating internal report set out a string of missteps that left the force unprepared what happened when hundreds of Trump supporters marched on the Capitol.
Released in April, it described riot shields that shattered, weapons that were unserviceable, inadequate training and an intelligence division that had few set standards.
A November letter sent to the House investigation into Jan. 6, and obtained by Politico, alleged that a 'culture of retaliation and intimidation' existed in the department’s intelligence division.
Officers who defended the Capitol were hailed as heroes when they gave evidence to the House committee investigating the attack
'The true heartbreak post January 6th is the ongoing retaliation and intimidation that continues against most members of the IICD that sounded the alarms about the intelligence and disorganization prior to tragedies of January 6th,' said the whistleblower, who is reportedly not represented by Gebhardt.
And it said that said Capitol Police intelligence analysts made at least 93 complaints about 'abuse and mismanagement of the USCP intelligence operations' before and after Jan. 6.
A spokesperson for the Capitol Police declined to comment, citing the possibility of litigation.
Another letter sent to Congress by a high-ranking officer laid out more complaints about the force's leadership.
It claimed two senior officials - assistant chief Yogananda Pittman and acting assistant chief Sean Gallagher - did not share vital intelligence with other police leadership and did not act to help officers once the violence began on January 6, yet had
The 16-page letter, obtained by news organizations including Politico and CNN, said the two had not seen any consequences in the months since the attack.
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