Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday blasted US Capitol police for their “failure” in containing the riot by supporters of President Trump that saw a woman shot dead by cops, as authorities vowed to continue hunting those responsible.
Bowser, who does not control the federal police force, sounded off during a press briefing on the fallout of the riot, which temporarily derailed Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results in favor of Joe Biden.
“Obviously it was a failure or you wouldn’t have had police lines breached and people entering the Capitol building by breaking windows and terrorizing people, the members of Congress, who were doing a very sacred constitutional requirement of their jobs,” said Bowser.
“Clearly, there was a failure there. There’s got to be a real investigation into what happened,” she continued.
Video footage from the Wednesday riot showed hordes of Trump supporters easily overpowering Capitol Police and breaching the building, where they ran wild for hours until federal and local reinforcements arrived to restore order.
Bowser called the insurrection “an affront not only to our democracy, but also to our values.”
Robert Contee, the acting chief of the DC Metropolitan Police, said during the briefing that a total of 68 arrests were made Wednesday into early Thursday, and authorities are reviewing evidence including video footage to identify more of the rioters.
Investigators were also scouring Beltway hotels and airports on Thursday in an attempt to nab those rioters who hadn’t already left the area, Contee said.
“We shared these images last night with the DC BIDs, the hotel associations and other community partners, along with the FBI,” he said. “We also have shared these images with the regional airport authorities.
“As we speak, we have members of the Metropolitan Police Department that are scouring the area hotels, businesses, etcetera, trying to identify some of these individuals that still may be taking up residence within our city,” the top cop added.
Contee said that his department was working with the FBI to “aggressively pursue those responsible for these shameful and violent acts.”
In a statement released Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Ray signaled that the agency was endeavoring to make further arrests.
“As we’ve said consistently, we do not tolerate violent agitators and extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-protected activity to incite violence and wreak havoc,” he said. “Make no mistake: With our partners, we will hold accountable those who participated in yesterday’s siege of the Capitol.
“Our agents and analysts have been hard at work through the night gathering evidence, sharing intelligence, and working with federal prosecutors to bring charges,” the G-man added. “We are determined to find those responsible and ensure justice is served.”
The majority of 68 arrests were for violating a 6 p.m. curfew imposed by Bowser.
Fourteen people from across the country were busted on more serious charges, including unlawful entry, assaulting a police officer and possession of an unregistered firearm, according to Capitol Police.
They variously hailed from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Only one of the 68 arrested was known to be a resident of the District of Columbia, Contee said.
During the same briefing, officials announcing that some 6,200 National Guardsmen would be in Washington DC by the weekend — including a contingent from New York — and that a seven-foot, non-scalable fence is in the process of being erected around the perimeter of the Capitol.
That barrier will remain in place for at least the next 30 days, authorities said.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Rosenberg
