Two U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended for their conduct during the insurrection last week, according to Representative Tim Ryan, the top Democrat on a House subcommittee investigating how a pro-Trump mob was able to violently push its way into the building.
“One was the selfie officer, and another was an officer who had put a MAGA hat on and started directing some people around,” Ryan told reporters on Monday, according to CNN. Early reports and footage from Wednesday revealed some alarming behavior from those tasked with protecting the Capitol. One insurrectionist told the New York Times that an officer “tried to direct” three members of the mob to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office. A video of one officer submitting to a selfie with a mob member went viral after the attack.
Ryan said that ten to 15 more Capitol Police officers are under investigation for how they behaved during the attack and that the Capitol Police interim chief is taking “aggressive action” to determine if any officers gave insurrectionists any help once they were inside. “The main point is that Capitol police are looking at everybody involved that could have potentially facilitated at a big level or small level in any way,” Ryan said. According to a congressional official who spoke with the Washington Post, eight investigations have been launched into Capitol Police officers, including one officer who posted messages of support for the demonstration prior to the riot.
In addition to investigations determining why there were so few officers stationed at the Capitol on Wednesday despite reported warnings of violence from the FBI, there are multiple inquiries into members of law enforcement and the military who allegedly traveled to the rally from other parts of the country. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told Representative Jason Crow on Sunday that at least 25 domestic-terrorism cases have been opened into military personnel who might have been on the scene on Wednesday. Police departments in Virginia, Texas, Seattle, Philadelphia, and New York City have opened investigations into their own officers who traveled to D.C. for the rally.
