House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she has been briefed on the Capitol Police Inspector General’s “disturbing” review of the department’s preparation for, and response to, the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
“I have been briefed by United States Capitol Police Inspector General Michael A. Bolton about his preliminary review of the Capitol Police Department’s preparation for, and response to, the January 6 insurrectionist riot,” Lofgren said in a statement.
“His first two reports provide detailed and disturbing findings and important recommendations,” she continued.
Lofgren added that she plans to have the House Administration Committee review the findings and recommendations from the report “in the coming weeks.”
This development comes after lawmakers called on the Capitol Police to begin holding regular press conferences to update the public on threats to the Capitol following the Jan. 6 riots, in an effort to increase transparency from the department.
In a letter to members of the Capitol Police Board, Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), both top lawmakers on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Capitol Police budget, specifically called on the department to publicly release the IG report, and hold regular press conferences.
The Capitol Police however, responded saying that they are not at liberty to release any inspector general reports because the IG’s office operates independently from the department. They also declined to commit to press conferences.
The report, which Lofgren said she was briefed on today, is expected to provide recommendations to prevent another riot from happening again.
Last week, Capitol security officials finished removing the outer perimeter fence that had surrounded the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings. An inner perimeter fence, however, still remains.
Before the outer fence was taken down, acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett sent a memo to lawmakers informing them that security officials found that “there does not exist a known, credible threat against Congress or the Capitol Complex that warrants the temporary security fencing.”