FBI warned of 'war' at US Capitol day before assault

WASHINGTON

An FBI office in the state of Virginia warned authorities of a potential "war" from extremist supporters of US President Donald Trump, one day before protesters converged on Washington, according to a report published Tuesday.

An internal FBI document obtained by the Washington Post newspaper offered warnings that stand in stark contrast to the words of the head of the bureau’s Washington Field Office, Steven D’Antuono, who said after the melee “there was no indication" of planned violent action.

But the situational information report, approved for release last Tuesday, explicitly said that the Norfolk, Virginia office "received information indicating calls for violence in response to ‘unlawful lockdowns’ to begin on 6 January 2021 in Washington. D.C."

"An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating ‘Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest," it warned. "Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.”

The online discussion was referring to the Black Lives Matter movement, while also using a derogatory name for Antifa, the far-left anti-fascist group.

D’Antuono acknowleded the document during remarks with reporters Tuesday afternoon, saying that the bureau "had no indication information was linked to any specific person" while describing the document as "matter of an online discussion."

"This information was immediately disseminated through a written product, and briefed through our command post operations through all levels of law enforcement," he said.

In all, five people died when Trump's supporters besieged the US Capitol building last Wednesday, overrunning police as they barged into the federal legislature as lawmakers were certifying Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden.

The rioters smashed windows and doors after clashing violently with an under-prepared police force, ultimately coming within seconds of confronting and potentially committing violence against lawmakers.

Among those killed was Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Asked if he had any information that the rioters sought to abduct lawmakers, D'Antuono said the FBI is seeking to determine the "true purpose of some of the individuals that were in the Capitol that day."

Questions have been raised in the wake of last week's raid the extent to which it was centrally planned, and Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for the nation's capital, said federal investigators are in the midst of answering that question.

“No resource related to the FBI, or the US attorney’s office will be unchecked in terms of trying to determine exactly, if there was a command and control, how it operated and how they executed these activities,” he said.

The FBI has opened over 170 cases related to the Capitol mob, and Sherwin said that number would expand "geometrically" into the hundreds "in the coming weeks."

"This is only the beginning," he said, noting that the first tranche of largely misdemeanor charges could be followed by heavier allegations. "We have the ability to then indict these individuals on more significant charges—and that's exactly what has happened."