Rep. Zoe Lofgren described the radio broadcast, the existence of which was not yet known, during a hearing on the committee on January 6 on the failure of the safety committee.
In that broadcast, the official said, “Note all units on the field, we are not looking for any pro-Trump in the crowd. We are only looking for any anti-Trump who wants to start a fight,” according to Lofgren, a California Democrat.
Lofgren, who chairs the committee, said she was quoting from a report of the radio call, which was found by the department’s office for professional responsibility during the ongoing investigation into the allegations regarding officers’ behavior on January 6. She did not identify the officer.
A Capitol police spokesman told CNN that radio communications took place around 8 a.m. the day of the riot. The spokesman added that the communication was intended to lead officials to also look for clashes between pro-Trump protesters and counter-protesters. The official who made the remark is not being investigated, the spokesman said.
Neither the Capitol nor Congress police introduced the sound of the broadcast, despite requests to do so.
U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton has said he has not yet read internal reports of the investigation – which CNN reported last month involved allegations against 36 officers – but plans to do so as soon as the investigation has been completed.
A committee assistant told CNN that Lofgren’s interrogation line underscores the point that the USCP, based on the intelligence available at the time, had ample reason to expect violence from pro-Trump protesters targeting the Capitol and lawmakers, but ‘despite this and all the rhetoric online … USCP supervisors apparently still advised their top officials on the morning of 1/6 to focus and prioritize on anti-Trump protesters. ‘
In the future, Bolton “will be able to review the radio broadcasts, and he intends to review the findings in general and to command and control communication, knowing that there is a specific allegation about the communication that he needs to specifically investigate , “said the assistant. .
Lofgren’s description of the radio broadcast in question provides rare insight into the kind of behavior of the Capitol police that is being investigated as part of the investigation.
One of the suspended officers took a selfie with someone who was part of the mob that passed the Capitol, Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat in Ohio, said. Another was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and started leading people around the building, Ryan added.
The acting head of the USCP, Yogananda Pittman, said in January that the department was “actively reviewing videos and other open source material of some USCP officials and officials that appear to be in violation of the department’s regulations and policies. . “
This story was updated with comments from a Capitol police spokesman.
CNN’s Whitney Wild contributed to this report.