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.
Paul Douglas Irving is an American former law enforcement officer who served as the Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives from January 17,2012,until January 7,2021,succeeding Wilson Livingood in that post. He resigned due to his inability to fulfill his duty during the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
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 memoirist 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.
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,two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress 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.
On January 6,2021,Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during an attack on the United States Capitol. She was part of a crowd of supporters of then U.S. president Donald Trump who breached the United States Capitol building seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley,also known as the QAnon Shaman,Q Shaman,and Yellowstone Wolf,is an American far-right conspiracy theorist,rioter,and convicted felon who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack,for which he was convicted after a guilty plea on charges of obstructing an official proceeding. He is a supporter of former president Donald Trump and a former believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theory which has no basis in reality or any facts to corroborate its claims.
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. After being passed over for the position,Hemingway became chief of staff to the Senate's Sergeant at Arms.
On January 7,2021,a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer,Brian Sicknick,died after suffering two strokes the day after he responded to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. The District of Columbia chief medical examiner found that Sicknick had died from stroke,classifying his death as natural and additionally commented that "all that transpired played a role in his condition",a decision which was criticized by some expert neurologists,who have stated that stress from the attack may have very well caused the stroke. His cremated remains were laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on February 2,2021,before they were buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
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".
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 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.
On January 6,2021,supporters of then President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building,disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month,the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021,725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack,and to 1,200 by the third anniversary,at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases,of which there are fewer,are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
On April 2,2021,Noah Green,a 25-year-old black nationalist,killed Capitol Police officer William Evans and wounded a second officer after he deliberately rammed his car into a barricade outside the United States Capitol in Washington,D.C. As a result of the attack,the Capitol complex was locked down. Green was shot and later died at a hospital from the gunshot wounds. Green shared extremist viewpoints advanced by the Nation of Islam and other black nationalists prior to committing his attack at the Capitol.
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.
John Thomas Manger is an American police officer who is the 11th and current chief of the United States Capitol Police. He previously served as the chief of the Montgomery County Police Department. Manger was selected to lead the Capitol Police in the aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Howard Charles Liebengood,a United States Capitol Police officer,died by suicide on January 9,2021,three days after he participated in the law enforcement response to the Capitol attack. He was the first of what were reported as two police suicides in the immediate aftermath of the attack,though Metropolitan Police (MPD) officer Jeffrey L. Smith's widow disputes the manner of death. In the months after the civil disturbance at the Capitol,it was generally reported that the deaths of five people who were present have,to varying degrees,been related to the event. Some members of Congress and press reports included these two in the number of fatalities,for a total of seven.
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.
