FLASHING RED

Officials Were Warned About ‘Mass-Casualty Event’ Days Before Capitol Riot, Says Report

Politico reports that threats to the U.S. Capitol building were specifically discussed during a call.

Hundreds of law-enforcement officials were warned about the possibility of a “mass-casualty event” just two days before a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to Politico. It was reported earlier this year that the heads of so-called fusion centers—regional U.S. intelligence hubs tasked with tracking domestic terror threats—held a rare national call on Jan. 4 to discuss ominous threats they were seeing ahead of the MAGA gathering. Now, Politico reports that the 300 law-enforcement officials on the call were warned about a possible “mass-casualty event.” An official summary of the call obtained by the site says: “Reporting indicates a significant number of individual [sic] plan to or are advocating for others to travel to Washington, DC to engage in civil unrest and violence.” One participant said threats to the U.S. Capitol building were specifically discussed during the call. Politico reports that there was even a hashtag on FBI’s private communication service to discuss the threats: #CERTUNREST2021. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Politico’s report.