WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — As the House Appropriations Committee is investigating the failure of the Capitol Police to stop violent pro-Trump rioters from entering the US Capitol on Wednesday, the chief of police resigned.
Capitol Police said officers were simultaneously responding to 2 explosive devices and a suspicious vehicle when rioters used chemicals and other weapons to force their way into the Capitol. Video shows rioters leaving the Capitol freely after violence.
More than 50 Capitol and DC Metro police officers were injured.
Rep. Tim Ryan, the Democrat from Ohio who chairs the subcommittee that funds the Capitol Police, said the sergeant-at-arms and Capitol Police chief assured him they were prepared for the protesters.
“That every precaution was being taken, that we had enough manpower, that we were going to keep people completely away from the Capitol,” Ryan said. “I’m livid about the whole thing.”
The police chief resigned after lawmakers called for him to step down.
In an address Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden was also upset.
“If it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday they would have been treated very differently than the mob of thugs who stormed the Capitol,” Biden said. “We all know that’s true. And it is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable.”
Now, a day later tall fencing is blocking access to the Capitol to help prevent any new attacks.