On the other side of Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the resignation of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mike Stenger, a move demanded by Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York.
Mr. McConnell said the move was effective immediately upon the lawmaker’s request an item on which the two parties in the upper chamber appeared to see eye to eye after the bloody unrest inside the Capitol building Wednesday.
Mr. Schumer had said that if Mr. Stenger weren’t gone once the Democrats take over the Senate on Jan. 21, “I will fire him.”
Law enforcement experts were aghast at what they saw as a stunning lack of preparation by the Capitol Police.
Lawmakers on Thursday targeted the U.S. Capitol Police for a shake-up after its officers failed to fend off violent pro-Trump protesters who laid siege to the building, resulting in the deaths of at least five people.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger, House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving and Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned Thursday after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol.
When some pro-Trump rally attendees mobbed the Capitol building on Wednesday, roaming and pillaging the halls and offices of Congress, as well as hanging from the walls and posing for photos behind the podiums in the respective chambers, one of the primary questions quickly became, why werenât Capitol Police prepared to stop this disgraceful behavior.
Five people are dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died from injuries resulting from reportedly being struck in the head by a fire extinguisher. More than 50 other officers were injured; some were hospitalized. Chief Steven Sund announced his resignation, effective January 16. House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving followed suit, and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mike Stenger is likely next, either by his choice or Chuck Schumerâs.
And at the Capitol itself, police had set out low barriers and officers were largely in street uniforms, not riot gear. All were prepared to confine a protest, but not to deter an attack, law enforcement officials said.
Law enforcement experts said they were mystified by the tactics that police used once the mob was already inside the Capitol.
One woman was shot and killed by Capitol police as officers tried to stop a group from penetrating the building, according to two law enforcement officials, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe security operations.