“Can you move east
to about Third Street at the crossover? And —” It’s Jan. 6, 12:50 p.m. In a little over an hour,
Trump supporters will be roaming the halls
of the U.S. Capitol. “Just be visible in that area,
ready to respond.” What you’re hearing
are recordings of internal police
radio traffic obtained by
The New York Times that give a rare window
into the real-time tactics, decisions and fears of
front-line police officers thrust into a battle
they weren’t expecting. “Having just a couple
minor issues in that area with small crowds —
or with the large crowd.” [shouting] The crowd gathered
outside the Capitol lawn gets more aggressive
and pushes through barricades guarded
by Capitol Police officers. [shouting] “We’re not here for you. We’re here for America.” The Capitol Police force
requests backup. “Can you advise if anyone —” These internal radio
communications are from the reinforcements, officers from D.C.’s
municipal police force, or M.P.D., who were called
in to help the Capitol Police. “Cruiser 50, 64, 54,
mount up.” Cruiser 50 is the call sign
for the leader of the M.P.D. response,
Inspector Robert Glover, a high-ranking M.P.D. veteran
who specializes in crowd control and
high-stakes confrontations. As President Trump is speaking
at the other end of the Mall, Glover is leading
an M.P.D. team to reinforce the west front of the Capitol. The main stairways
are currently covered with scaffolding
and bleachers. If the crowd pushes past
police anywhere along here, they’ll have easier access
to the building. When Glover’s
M.P.D. team arrives, most dressed
in bright yellow, this is the brawl
they’re walking into. [shouting] Glover, seen here, immediately
sees that a crowd this big, this hostile, is going to
require more manpower. D.S.O. are munition specialists. C.D.U. units are trained
to subdue unruly crowds — “Hold back.” — but the police
will quickly learn this is not a typical
unruly crowd. “The patriots are the only
ones who give a [expletive] about you.” Over the next
76 minutes, the M.P.D. radio
communications, synchronized with footage
from the scene analyzed by
The New York Times, reveal the gauntlet Glover
and his team face trying to hold the line
at the Capitol. It’s been five minutes
since Glover’s team arrived, and already he’s calling in
officer injuries. He hears from other
police on the radio, who warn that the situation
is about to get even worse. Now that President Trump
has left the stage at the other end of
the National Mall, crowds of people are
streaming toward the Capitol. Glover is still asking
for the munitions unit. Injuries were mounting. [bang] Finally, one of the units
in hard gear Glover’s been
calling for arrives. “They should have [expletive]
stormed them when they had the chance. Like, they got all kind of
big-ass riot cops coming down.” Police escalate
their response and start using more
crowd-control weapons. “They’re shooting
into their own people. We represent blue lives, and
this is what they do to us.” “Move back.
Move back.” “We’re coming,
[expletive].” “They have tear gas,
but we will not stop. We will not stop.” It’s been almost an hour
since Glover and his team were called to the scene. “Blue lives matter. Every life matters.” “We don’t want to
be here right now.” “We don’t want to
have to be here.” “It’s not personal, man.” The help they need
isn’t arriving. But the crowd
keeps coming. [shouting] “Let’s go. Let’s go.” The crowd penetrates
the scaffolding, a critical position that
gives them access to stairs to the upper terraces where
there are several key doors into the building. Things are so dire
that Glover himself takes up crowd-control arms, but it’s not enough. “Let’s go.” Within minutes, throngs snake
up through the scaffolding, push past more police,
up the stairs, and some reach
the upper level, break through windows
and the door to get inside the Capitol. But for Glover and his team,
this fight is not over. They’re still on the
lower terrace battling to block off the sea of people
from gaining access to other doors
and windows. [shouting] Word comes over the radio
that more forces are being sent to the scene. Glover even calls for
mounted Park Police. “There is now a
restricted access area, pursuant to D.C. official —” But the horses
don’t arrive in time. At 2:28 p.m., sections
of the police line are beginning to buckle. “Take it!” Then other parts
of the line give way. “Push, push, push.” The crowd swarms
the lower terrace. Some surround the police. Officers are attacked. [shouting] “God’s gonna judge
every one of you all.” Glover finally has no choice but to order his officers
to retreat. [shouting] “Take their helmets off. Get their helmets off.” “We own this [expletive].” 10-33 means Glover is
calling for immediate emergency assistance. All hands. [shouting] [chanting]
Each and every terrorist there that day is a piece of shit that deserves everything that the reddit ToS restricts me from typing out.
Thanks for the link, OP.
More people need to watch this. A lot of perspective.