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I think people are misunderstanding videos of Capitol Police seemingly letting the mob through.
In some cases it looks like they're moving the mob from one contained area to another.
In others they're outnumbered 50-1 by an agitated & violent group directly threatening them. 1/
In some cases it looks like they're moving the mob from one contained area to another.
In others they're outnumbered 50-1 by an agitated & violent group directly threatening them. 1/
I'm no expert in riot control but when outnumbered so severely you have to make a staged retreat at the point you're about to be beaten back regardless. (See: https://twitter.com/elijahschaffer/status/1346966514990149639)
If you try to use violence to stop them you run a high risk of simply being overpowered... 2/
If you try to use violence to stop them you run a high risk of simply being overpowered... 2/
...perhaps killed, and the mob then going on an even worse rampage.
There are some videos where guards simultaneously run back from particularly threatening groups in a coordinated fashion, which look like organised retreats. 3/
There are some videos where guards simultaneously run back from particularly threatening groups in a coordinated fashion, which look like organised retreats. 3/
In the most widely circulated video they give up on defending a perimeter because it has already been overrun from another side (unfortunately only visible from a different angle). 4/
Why were they so grossly outnumbered?
From the accounts I've read, because the local National Guard is responsible for defending the Capitol from riots, and they report to the President, who for some reason decided not to send them to stop his own insurrectionist mob. 5/
From the accounts I've read, because the local National Guard is responsible for defending the Capitol from riots, and they report to the President, who for some reason decided not to send them to stop his own insurrectionist mob. 5/
Perhaps it's a structural oversight that the group that protects Congress reports only to the person most likely to want to overthrow it — though a legislature having an autonomous armed force for its own defence is also problematic. 6/
Added — The person welcoming the mob over from 0:08 in this video is one of the many rioters who has already breached that fence, making it pointless and dangerous to continue defending: https://twitter.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1346931235176783873
