Two Capitol police officers have been suspended as a result of their actions during the U.S. Capitol storm, as pressure on law enforcement increases to make riot police respond and secure Washington DC from an additional violence before Joe Biden takes office next week.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Tim Ryan told reporters Monday that one of the officers took a selfie with someone and the other put on a “Make America Great Again” hat. He says of the latter that the “interim chief determined that he could be suspended immediately.”
Thousands of pro-Donald Trump insurgents stormed the Capitol last Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to flee and hide. Five people were killed, including a Capitol police officer.
Several people have already been arrested in connection with the riot, including Richard Barnett, who was photographed with his feet on a desk in Nancy Pelosi’s office; Jacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli; Adam Christian Johnson, who was photographed carrying the Pelosi lectern; and Derrick Evans, a newly elected legislator in West Virginia. Chansley had his first court hearing Monday.
Ryan said Capitol police were looking at everyone involved who could have facilitated the raid “on a large or small level anyway.” He said they did not want an officer working on Joe Biden’s inauguration “who was not doing the job at the Jan. 6 event.”
The Capitol police force on Monday appointed Yogananda Pittman as the new acting head of the force, which was plunged into a crisis by the security breach.
His appointment, which follows the resignation of former chief Steven Sund following the attack, is historic. Pittman is the first woman and the first black American to run a police agency, Capitol police confirmed on the US public radio network NPR.
Pittman said the police department “was actively reviewing videos and other open source materials of some [Capitol] officers and officials who appear to violate the department’s regulations and policies. “
“Our professional responsibility office will investigate these behaviors for disciplinary action, even to completion. [Capitol] officers have already been suspended pending the outcome of their investigations, “he said in a statement Monday evening.
The events come amid growing concerns of more violence in the run-up to Biden’s January 20 inauguration. The FBI has warned of planned armed protests in Washington and 50 U.S. capitals. Washington DC declared a state of emergency before the day of the inauguration, and the city’s mayor, Muriel Browser, said she was concerned about further attacks.
“If I’m scared of anything, it’s because of our democracy, because in our country we have very extreme factions that are armed and dangerous,” Bowser told a news conference Monday. “Our goals right now are to encourage Americans to participate virtually and protect the District of Columbia from the repeated violent insurgency experienced at the Capitol and its grounds on January 6.”
In other steps to safeguard the U.S. capital, the National Guard was authorized to send up to 15,000 troops to Washington and tourists were banned from visiting the Washington Monument until Jan. 24.