The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories. It answers to the Capitol Police Board and is the only full-service federal law enforcement agency appointed by the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
The sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the United States Senate is the protocol officer, executive officer, and highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer of the Senate of the United States. The office of the sergeant at arms of the Senate currently has just short of 1,000 full time staff.
The sergeant at arms of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the House with law enforcement, protocol, and administrative responsibilities. The sergeant at arms is elected at the beginning of each Congress by the membership of the House.
Francis J. "Frank" Larkin III served as the 40th Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate after his nomination by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on January 6, 2015, succeeding Andrew B. Willison. Larkin assumed his post as Sergeant at Arms after a distinguished career in both the public and private sector, including work in law enforcement, national security, information technology and cyber security. McConnell nominated Michael C. Stenger to succeed Larkin on April 16, 2018.
William J. Walker is a retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the 38th House Sergeant at Arms and the first African-American to hold the office. He last served as the 23rd Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. This responsibility includes command of the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard units. Walker previously served in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in January 2003, with his final assignment being Deputy Assistant Administrator in Charge of the Office of Strategic Warning Intelligence. Walker is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow.
Walter E. Piatt is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who was appointed chief executive officer of Wounded Warrior Project on March 18, 2024. He last served as the 57th Director of the Army Staff from 2019 to 2024. He enlisted in the army in 1979 and served four years as an infantryman. After graduating from Lock Haven University, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1987. Prior to assuming his current position, Piatt was the Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. His other assignments as a general officer include serving as the 52nd Chief of Infantry; Deputy Commanding General-Support, 10th Mountain Division; Commander, Joint Multinational Training Command; Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Europe; and director of Operations/director, Rapid Equipment Fielding, Army Rapid Capabilities Office.
Steven A. Sund is a retired American police officer and author who served as the tenth chief of the United States Capitol Police from 2019 to 2021. Sund was chief during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after which he resigned.
Charles A. Flynn is a United States Army general who serves as commanding general of United States Army Pacific since 4 June 2021. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Training (G3/5/7) of the Army Staff from June 2019 to May 2021. He is the younger brother of Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, Donald Trump's first National Security Advisor.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then–U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup d'état two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, six people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, three died of natural causes, and a police officer died after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.
Michael Conrad Stenger was an American law enforcement officer who served as the 41st Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate from April 16, 2018, to January 7, 2021.
Jennifer A. Hemingway is an American federal law enforcement officer and former political advisor who briefly served as the acting Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and acting chairwoman of the Capitol Police Board. Hemingway currently serves as chief of staff to the Senate's Sergeant at Arms.
The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, by rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol after assembling on the Ellipse of the Capitol complex for a rally headlined as the "Save America March".
Timothy Paul Blodgett is an American law enforcement officer who served as the Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives from January to April 2021.
Yogananda D. Pittman is an American police officer who is the University of California, Berkeley chief of police. She was formerly the assistant chief and acting chief of the United States Capitol Police (USCP), serving in those posts during and after the 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
In the aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after drawing widespread condemnation from the U.S. Congress, members of his administration, and the media, 45th U.S. President Donald Trump released a video-taped statement on January 7, reportedly to stop the resignations of his staff and the threats of impeachment or removal from office. In the statement, he condemned the violence at the U.S. Capitol, saying that "a new administration will be inaugurated", which was widely seen as a concession, and his "focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power" to the Joe Biden administration. Vanity Fair reported that Trump was at least partially convinced to make the statement by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who told Trump a sufficient number of Senate Republicans would support removing him from office unless he conceded. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, had attempted to distance the administration from the rioters' behavior in a televised statement earlier in the day. On January 9, The New York Times reported that Trump had told White House aides he regretted committing to an orderly transition of power and would never resign from office. In a March 25 interview on Fox News, Trump defended the Capitol attackers, saying they were patriots who posed "zero threat", and he criticized law enforcement for "persecuting" the rioters.
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
Eugene Goodman is an American United States Capitol Police officer who diverted invading rioters from the United States Senate chamber during the January 6 Capitol attack. Goodman is a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Iraq War. He served as the Acting Deputy Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate from January 20, 2021, to March 2, 2021.
The storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, raised concerns about the security of the inauguration of Joe Biden two weeks later on January 20, 2021. The inauguration, like all ceremonies since the first inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, was designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE); however, on this occasion, the week preceding it was included in preparations. Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, indicating that he believed a public, outdoor ceremony was necessary to demonstrate strength. Former Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco advised the Biden team on security-related matters for the ceremony.
Law enforcement mounted a response to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, initially failing to maintain security perimeters and protect parts of the building from being breached and occupied, but succeeding at protecting members of Congress, and subsequently, as reinforcements arrived, to secure the breached Capitol.
Ahead of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, there were widespread predictions of violence. Trump supporters, their opponents, media figures, and law enforcement all warned of upcoming violence. In 2023, a Senate report would conclude the attack was "planned in plain sight". Researchers predicted the violence was likely to occur if the elections were close and if Trump could not ensure that his supporters would commit fraud on his behalf.
