Yogananda Pittman | |
---|---|
Acting Chief of the United States Capitol Police | |
In office January 8, 2021 –July 22, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Steven Sund |
Succeeded by | J. Thomas Manger |
Personal details | |
Education | Morgan State University (BS) Marist College (MPA) |
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. [1]
She served as acting chief of the USCP from January 8 to July 23,2021,following the resignation of Steven Sund. [2] [3] [4] Her term as acting chief ended at the time of the appointment of J. Thomas Manger. [5]
Pittman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Morgan State University in 1999. [6] She later earned a Master of Public Administration from Marist College and is studying towards a Doctor of Public Administration at West Chester University. [2] [7]
She joined the Capitol Police in 2001. In 2012,Pittman was among the first black female supervisors to be promoted to the rank of captain in the Capitol Police. At that time,she was responsible for over 400 officers and civilian staff. The next year,she was in charge of the security planning for the second inauguration of Barack Obama. [7] During her tenure,Pittman was assigned to the United States Senate Division and served as assistant chief of police for protective and intelligence operations. [8] In 2020,Pittman received the Women in Federal Law Enforcement's Outstanding Advocate for Women award. [2]
According to Steven Sund and Tarik Johnson,formerly of the U.S. Capitol Police,while Pittman was the interim Head of the U.S. Capitol Police,she had specific intelligence that there was a planned insurrection at the Capitol at least two weeks before the January 6,2021 incident. [9] [10] According to findings in a bipartisan Senate investigation,a series of omissions and miscommunications kept that information from reaching front-line officers. [9]
Following the resignation of Steven Sund in 2021,Pittman became acting chief of the Capitol Police. She was the first woman and first African American to lead the Capitol Police. [2] [11] [12] [13] On February 15,2021,the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee,the union representing Capitol Police officers,voted 92% against Pittman in a vote of no confidence in her leadership. [14]
On December 5,2022,the University of California,Berkeley announced that Pittman had assumed the role of chief of the Berkeley department of the UCPD,with her leadership beginning February 1,2023. [15]
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD),officially the Montgomery County Department of Police,is a nationally accredited agency and the primary law enforcement agency of Montgomery County,Maryland,providing the full spectrum of policing services to the entire county,including the Potomac River.
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 United States Army lieutenant general 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 law enforcement official,author and public speaker. Sund is a law enforcement veteran with over 30 years of experience in critical incident management and security planning. As former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police,he led the force through significant challenges,including the events of January 6,2021. Previously,he served as commander of the Metropolitan Police Department’s elite Special Operations Division,managing national special security events,numerous large demonstrations and several high profile critical incidents such as the DC Navy yard active shooter incident and the Holocaust Museum shooting. Working alongside the United States Secret Service,Sund has “protected every living president from Carter to Biden”. Sund served as the tenth Chief of the United States Capitol Police from June 13,2019,to January 7,2021. He led the force during the January 6 Capitol attack,after which he faced widespread criticism for the perceived security failures of that day. However,a December 2024 interim report by the Subcommittee on Oversight of the 118th Congress concluded that Sund had “unfairly shouldered the bulk of the blame”and highlighted systemic failures across federal agencies. The report restored his reputation by exonerating him from sole responsibility for the security lapses.
On January 6,2021,the United States Capitol Building in Washington,D.C.,was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-president Donald Trump in what several scholars have called an attempted "self-coup",two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of the 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,five people died:one was shot by the Capitol Police,another died of a drug overdose,and three died of natural causes,including a police officer who died of natural causes a day 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.
On January 6,2021,Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the attack on the United States Capitol. She was part of a crowd of supporters of then outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump who stormed the United States Capitol building seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Jennifer A. Hemingway is an American federal law enforcement officer serving as the Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate prior to her appointment at the 119th United States Congress she served as a political advisor and briefly served as the acting Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and acting chairwoman of the Capitol Police Board in 2021.
On January 7,2021,a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer,Brian Sicknick,died after suffering two strokes the day after he responded to the attack on the U.S. Capitol during which he was assaulted with pepper spray by two rioters. 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,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.
The investigation of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol building is the largest criminal probe in U.S. history.
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.