https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/jan/07/ask-politifact-did-capitol-police-let-mob-trump-su/
By Samantha Putterman January 7, 2021
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Question: "Did Capitol Police let a mob of Trump supporters into the building?"
Answer:
We didn’t find evidence of that. Instead, we discovered that some online video is getting misinterpreted. Many officers had to abandon their posts and barricades because they were far outnumbered and overwhelmed.
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But the viral, 14-second video clip that some are using to claim that officers willingly let rioters past barricades and into the Capitol is being misrepresented online, said journalist Marcus Diapola, who shot the video.
"They definitely didn't just open the barriers," Diapola told PolitiFact. "The pro-Trump rioters made a fist like they were going to punch the cops, which is why I started recording. Then (police) backed off the barricades.
"They were completely outnumbered," Diapola said. "There wouldn't have been any point in fighting."
Diapola said the video was taken around 2 p.m. near the northeast entrance of the Capitol and estimated that the officers were outnumbered "100 to 1," with only around 30 officers spread out between three entrances on that side of the Capitol, compared with thousands of protesters.
Another video, taken on the west end of the Capitol, shows rioters quickly overwhelming police barricades and eventually forcing the officers to retreat.
While we found no evidence that officers allowed the mob in willingly, the security breakdown that enabled rioters to breach the building is under intense scrutiny, and officials have said an investigation is imminent.
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Ryan said that Capitol Police had assured him they were ready for the day’s long-planned demonstrations by Trump supporters, and that they were coordinating with the Secret Service, city police and the National Guard.
"There was a strategic breakdown, for sure," he said, "and you can bet your a-- we are going to get to the bottom of it."
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