Far-right extremists threaten to ‘blow up the Capitol’ during Biden’s State of the Union, security official testifies
Plans to “blow up” the U.S. Capitol during President Joe Biden’s yet-to-be scheduled State of the Union address in hopes of killing as many members of Congress “as possible” remains a credible threat, a top security official told lawmakers Thursday.
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman made the disturbing revelation in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee while justifying the need for keeping strict security measures in place at the Capitol in the wake of the deadly pro-Trump attack on Jan. 6.
“We know members of the militia groups that were present on Jan. 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union,” said Pittman, who took over as chief after her predecessor, Steven Sund, resigned in the immediate aftermath of the assault on the Capitol.
Pittman said intelligence agents, likely from the FBI, have come across the threats of mass violence in chatter on encrypted internet forums, underscoring that the prospect of more far-right attacks is of key concern to U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Biden was initially expected to deliver his first State of the Union address in February. However, that prospect now appears unlikely, and the White House has not set a date for the annual speech yet.
As part of her testimony, Pittman also shed new light on the communication breakdown between congressional security officials on Jan. 6.
Sund testified earlier this week that he asked the since-resigned House and Senate sergeants-at-arms to call in National Guard assistance around 1 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 6, as the pro-Trump mob began attacking the Capitol.
Pittman said she had pulled Sund’s phone records and that they confirmed he spoke with former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving at 12:58 p.m. and former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger at 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6.
Still, Irving claimed in testimony this week that he didn’t speak to Sund until after 2 p.m., at which point the rioters had already breached the building. It took several more hours before National Guard troops finally responded to the Capitol attack, which left a police officer and four others dead.
Despite the security failures, Pittman said law enforcement agencies did not receive any intelligence before Jan. 6 forewarning of the attack.
“Although we knew the likelihood for violence by extremists, no credible threat indicated that tens of thousands would attack the U.S. Capitol, nor did the intelligence received from the FBI or any other law enforcement partner indicate such a threat,” Pittman said.
