6 January 2021 DC AAR

Report from boots on the ground in DC.

As an eyewitness and participant to what occurred on 6 January I have no doubt that the events that transpired around the Capitol Building were predetermined by the ‘Swamp’. Security was SO incredibly light that it was inevitable  there would be altercations.

One; Security Staffing — The rally size which I haven’t seen reported anywhere yet was huge, I mean 100’s of thousands if not a million people. I have been to college football games with 100,000+ fans and you could have dropped the entire stadium full into the crowd and not have seen the difference. I made my way around the White House through the Ellipse and up to the Washington Monument at approximately 0830. The entire park was jam packed by then, crowds filled Constitution Avenue for blocks in each direction, the area around WM park was also jammed and 1000’s of people wandered around the Reflecting Pool and up to the Lincoln Memorial in the west, the same to the east towards the Capitol Building. So even if the incompetent management of the Capitol Police and DC police hadn’t planned for such a large turn out there was plenty of time to add additional forces around the Capitol Building. There were numerous officers stationed at every intersection and official building around the capitol, but why only a handful at the Capitol? I mean handful, 100? maybe more but not by much.

Two; Site Security — I had left the WM area prior to the end of President Trump’s speech and headed to the Capitol arriving at the back stairs (west) at roughly 1200. Crowds had already begun to form and perimeter security was about to be breached. OK, a word on this. How long do you think a plastic snow fence, green version not the orange, zip tied to  tee posts set into the grass every 10′ or so, would hold up to the large number of people? There was no patrolling of any type along the outer fence line that I witnessed, the LEO’s were stationed at the Capitol Building and in a double wide warming trailer near the visitor tour sign-in building. At the steps to the Capitol there were the portable fence barriers, the type that look like bicycle racks several yards from the staircase with police, maybe 20, arrayed behind them. Another item of interest; there was ongoing construction work around the rear entrance. Storage containers, construction materials and scaffolding was scattered around the grounds, these were all between the two so called security “barriers”. The two fence lines were separated by a distance of perhaps 50 yards.  As I made my way to the east side of the building the set-up was much the same except that the secondary perimeter was east of ********** road. Stationed on the stairs to the Capitol were a number of officers, Capitol Police mostly it seemed, maybe a total of 30 visible at any one time. Also the distance between the outer perimeter and inner was substantially less, maybe 20 yards. Again no patrolling between the lines. As the crowds began to increase at the conclusion of the Presidents address at the White House the crowds began to increase and the police presence did too, but by a very minimal amount.

Three; Crowd Composition — As mentioned above the number of attendees was substantial, I would not be at all surprised if it exceeded 1M. But I think it’s necessary to note the demographics of the crowd. Senior citizens, both male and female were significant and many of those men were military veterans, proudly wearing items relating to their service years.

Side note, I had the honor of conversing with one gentleman who was wearing his old service jacket — non-regulation by the embroidery on it — that indicated his years as a PJ (pararescue) in ‘Nam. I shook his hand had a brief conversation then asked him, “why are you here?” His response was immediate and stoic, “so that others may live”. I just about lost it at that point, gave him a hug and told him God Bless and walked away before he could see the tears running down my cheeks. For those that may not be aware that is their motto that originated  back in the jungle — Those guys have the biggest stones of all!

The female attendance was a very large percentage of those present, as well as children, not only young children >5yr, but in the 6-15 year category. Parents questioned as to why they brought their children answered almost the same every time, to see history.

Another significant block that surprised me was the Chinese Americans, they had a large turnout and were promoting condemnation of the CCP, passing out leaflets and asking for signatures on petitions. African/Americans and Latinos were numerous as well and just about every other ethnic group you could think of, they were waving American flags as well as that of their particular geographic identity. My estimate is that is that 60-65% of the crowd consisted of those other than white males.

Four; Coordinated Groups, FAM (fighting aged males) — I observed three separate type of groups working in coordination amongst themselves. Two of whom I have first hand knowledge but not personal affiliation, The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Also present were several clusters of individuals – I’m assuming they were all together based on their kit – wearing all black, including chest rigs, helmets, goggles and in a few cases elbow and knee pads.

The OK and PB seemed to be in small groups, 2-4 individuals, and many of those were also wearing chest rigs, usually with IFAK medical kits attached. Helmets, PPD and goggles were generally not present, although comm’s gear was evident amongst the PB groups, at least one per ‘cell’. Many of the OK had their Oath Keeper insignia clearly visible, the PB however were not wearing their colors, at least during the rally and over at the Capitol. What may have transpired after I left the scene at 1600 I cannot attest to. The ‘BC’s’ (black clads) as I shall refer to them as going forward were normally in groups of 6-8 if not larger.

The OK and PB were very evident at the WH rally although on the periphery where they could be assured of freedom of movement. They were not observed within the large gatherings at any time. Only one group of BK’s were sighted near the WM and they were first noticed walking as a group along the south side of the reflecting pool, passing behind the WM and then heading towards the Capitol along Independence Avenue. This occurred at appx. 1030hrs, PB and OK were sighted in the area the entire time and several made their way to the Capitol during the same time period as myself (1130).

Five; Early Crowd Psychology — The crowds mood around the White House and surrounding areas during the time leading up to the Presidents speech was much the same as all of Trump’s rally’s, enthusiastic to put it mildly and with a substantial if not overwhelming amount of kinship. These were like minded people, all walks, colors and creeds,  everyone and I mean EVERYONE was interacting, laughing, chanting — Stop the Steel, Trump, Trump, Trump and Drain the Swamp were regularly heard but also many patriotic ones, USA USA USA was of course a crowd favorite. Song would break out spontaneously, usually starting with the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ followed by Irving Berlins ‘God Bless America’ or Lee Greenwoods ‘God Bless the USA’, of which the words were not generally distinguishable until the refrain line of ‘Proud to be an American’ was sung.  It was quite remarkable, a person’s hat would blow off in the wind and be chased down and returned before the person could even react in the direction it flew. Cell phones dropped by a person walking by and returned to them without them even knowing they lost it, extra gloves being given to someone who had neglected to bring their own. It was a million people who loved their Country coming together to support their President who they believed was being denied a chance to further improve their country and their lives.

Six; Movement to Capitol ~1200hrs — Upon the completion of President Trump’s speech the crowd began to head to the Capitol building. I was already present at that location but have been told by reliable sources that it was almost like a tsunami as the crowd began to head in that direction. At the Capitol the influx of humanity was immediately felt, I believe that many began their movement to the Capitol shortly after my own as by the time I had made it back to the west lawn the numbers had increased significantly.

Seven; Outer Perimeter Breach — Returning to the west lawn I witnessed several of the BK’s simply tearing down the plastic fence of the outer perimeter. The crown began to spill through, myself included and the police responded but in a very minimal show of force, they moved down the steps to the inner line (bike gates) and assumed their tough guy stance. In about 10 minutes the west lawn near the capitol was completely filled with flag waving and chanting people, men, women and children, ‘Stop the Steel’ was universally being chanted. The younger males began to climb the nearby trees, climb onto the construction equipment and they began to surround the building. The outer perimeter on the east side of the building was breached as the masses of people arriving from the WH began to fill the area. Up until that time things were still relatively calm, flag waiving and chanting were the main aggressive actions.

Eight; Escalation — At ~1230 the BK’s began to push forward through the lines in numbers, I was surprised to see the coordination between them. They would intersperse themselves between ‘Joe and Jane’ average along the bike fence line and begin to incite those around them with chants, ‘This is Our House’ was one of their favorites. Shortly after they arrived an explosion was witnessed near the bike fence line followed almost immediately by an expulsion of smoke. Shouts of ‘tear gas’ and their throwing ‘flash bangs’ rang out from behind. Note: the smoke was from simple smoke bombs available at fireworks stores, I’m not sure what the ‘flash bangs’ were but I can assure you they were not the genuine article. Personally I did not witness any initiation of this force escalation by the police, though neither did I witness them increasing their staffing at the stair fence line to respond to these events. There were several more of these instances that had the effect of stirring up the crowd, the immediate area around the west staircase went from casual chanting to anger. The makeup began to shift to predominately male although many females were still in close proximity.

On the south side of the stairs up to the Capitol Promenade was a scaffold shrouded by white plastic. A young man made his way up to the top of this erection and began to wave an American flag, it took several minutes for the police to make their way up to him as chants of USA began to once again echo around the west side. When authorities arrived he did not resist and went with them peaceably. At about this time a large number of the BK’s began to actively assault the bike fence line, the leo’s used mace on them but most had their eye pro on and many had pulled out gas masks. The only ones effected were the innocent bystanders — thankfully I had the wind in my favor and glasses on — but many did not. There was a large surge from the crowd at this escalation and many seemed to be being pushed ahead from behind, your normal heard mentality. The meager forces at the base of the stairs had no choice but to retreat up to the Promenade. I was extremely surprised to se that there was no tertiary line of defense at the top of the staircase, easily the most defensible. At this point security on the west side of the building was non-existent, I did not move onto the Capitol building at this point but began to maneuver around to the east side of the building. As I left the area there were numerous individuals who had made their way up to the promenade and were waving their American, Trump and Don’t Tread on Me flags, the Capitol itself had not yet been entered.

Nine; East Capitol — By the time I reached the front of the Capitol Building ~1400, protesters had already made their way up the Capitol stairs but not entered the building. I found it curious that the south and center staircases were filled with people but the north staircase was still in control of authorities. They had positioned themselves on the landing half way up the staircase and were keeping the crowd on the lower portion of the stairs. The most interesting part is that there were only 8-10 officers along this line. No attempt was being made to breach their line by the crowd and there were many conversations going on between the police and civilians on the stairs.

As the flag waving continued an individual with an American flag on a pole that had to be 15′ long took position on the center staircase and began to wave it around. Slowly at first, and then the sound began to fill the air, the National Anthem began to be sung by the crowd on the East lawn, drive and stairs, a common occurrence at Antifa gatherings I’m sure. There were no physical or violent interactions on the east side that I witnessed during this time, news crews were observed on the east lawn but there hasn’t been a single report of this event that I am aware of.

Ten; Capitol Entry — At~1420 I had made my way up the main stairs to get an overview of the east lawn and surrounding area. The crowd was significantly smaller on this side but still substantial, as I made my way among the crowd at the top of the stairs I did not notice any of the BK’s  present on the west stairs. I did however notice a couple groups of the PK’s and made my way over to what looked like the most approachable of the two. A short Unit ID greeting to what looked to me as a brother and I was accepted by the group. I described what had happened on the west grounds and then a statement from him that finally made things clear to me. “They abandoned their post”, I looked over, he explained that on the two staircases the cops simply turned and headed up the stairs and into the building. “Look over there, pointing to the north stairs, they held position and nobody bothered them.” Just the doors to the Capitol opened and we were in the building. Someone ran out and yelled “were in let’s go”, we glanced at each other and headed in, the same guy, started to try and stir up the people as they made their way in — very reluctantly I must add, many just stopped and looked around — “come on let’s f*ck them up” was the last thing out of his mouth. One of the guys I was with, who hadn’t uttered a word at this point, reached out and grabbed him around the neck and very quietly said to him”No we won’t”, a quick glance to my ‘guide’ and they escorted him out of the building, I did not see any of them after that point. Security was non-existent at our location, crowds were not pouring in, it seemed to me that simply being able to stand on the steps was sufficient for most. Those that had entered, at least where I was stationed, mostly looked around not knowing what to do next, the agitator was gone and things calmed down. My little CYA bell began to chime and being not having someone to watch my back I decided to begin my exfil of the area, I’m not a young man anymore and ‘Lone Wolf’ operations require intelligence and planning, neither of which were available to me. I thanked the remaining two men with a nod and Semper Fi and headed back out into the daylight. Upon my departure (~1450) there were still no security personnel visible other than the 8-10 that were maintaining their post on the north staircase. As I headed to the north a squad of perhaps 20, wearing riot gear were heading from an unknown location on the north side of the building — a lower lever exit maybe — around to the east. Conditions on the south side were not experienced and no information will be provided.

Eleven; Departure, Capitol Grounds — As I made my way down the Capitol steps I noticed a significant reduction in the people gathered around the east side of the building. Many could be seen heading away from the area, a considerable number heading towards Union Station. Walking back along the north lawn (why I didn’t go to the south to evaluate is a great disappointment) I could see the crowds there and to the west were also thinning rapidly. The promenade still had flag waving and chanting but there was a different air about things, had the patriotic enthusiasm devolved into an air of defeat? The friendliness was still apparent, people still interacted and were respectful to each other but something had changed. I think almost everyone knew what had happened, that this was that the last gasp of a dying man, there was no smoking gun, no kraken or physical evidence that was going to save their country. Conversations were muted as the report of the shooting began to circulate and despair was not uncommon, how quick;y things had changed.

Twelve; Retrospective — It seems unbelievable that a security force of many thousands couldn’t prevent a crowd from overwhelming a static defensive line of what, 50′ in length? The fact is that on the primary side of the Capitol a handful of men were able to keep the stairway to the House Chambers clear and the crowds didn’t rush or overwhelm them. This is even more interesting when you consider that the Main and Senate Chamber staircases had been abandoned, it’s the standard behavior of mob mentality that when a small opportunity to exploit an opening occurs it becomes a tidal wave in an instant. Yet these few held their ground and the crowd respected them, doesn’t sound like a mob or riot to me. Also there is the utter lack of a defense in depth, plastic snow fence? An energetic group of kindergarten boys -at least the ones I grew up with- would have had that fence on the ground in about a minute. I’m thinking that a few patrol officers with their Fido’s at their sides would have kept anyone from making trouble, show me any rabble rouser that isn’t paranoid of a snarling dog. If it works at the White House why not the Capitol?

There were a few windows broken, minor damage around the building and grounds but nowhere near the violent destruction common with BLM, Antifa and other radical groups. They tried and succeeded to infiltrate the Trump supporters unfortunately but the basic rule of law among those that entered the Capitol Building was obvious. It was a few radicals not the 100’s of thousands if not million people that caused the problems and those on the inside that didn’t prevent it. Or did they encourage it?

I wanted to post this while the events were still fresh on my mind and not clouded by time and outside influences. I have heard that there were a large number of arrests that have been made in the Capitol, I wish I had the ability to investigate those individuals and find out who they really are, I’ll bet my retirement that the major instigators are not Trump supporters and those that are part of our ‘movement’ are simply young people that got caught up in the moment.

Additionally I have learned that the women shot, in the ONLY TRUE VIOLENCE at the Capitol has perished from her injuries. I pass my condolences to her family and prayers for her soul. I hope that the trigger happy individual will be held accountable and take solace in the fact that even if he/she doesn’t receive punishment for this act in this lifetime they will in the end.

Semper Fi