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To those of us who pay attention to such things, the events of January 6 were as predictable as rain. We know it's going to happen, we just don't know where or when all the time. This storm has been brewing a long, long time. So, why was there no specific intelligence about this particular event? Actually, there was. Both the NYPD intelligence office and Norfolk VA FBI Field office had forwarded specific threat information to FBI and Terrorist Fusion Centers, but those reports were not included in threat assessments. The question becomes, why? That's their job.
The answer, I think, is that Law Enforcement - at virtually every level - fails to see threats from "people like them". For some that is "white people", it is true, but the problem is more pervasive than just that. Ostensibly, Trump supporters "support" law enforcement - "Blue Lives Matter!" - so they shouldn't be a threat, right? That's part of the problem of believing your own press. Right/Reich-wing groups don't actually support law enforcement, even though many LE members are part of the cabal, that is just a convenient position in opposition to left-wing propaganda ("Defund the Police!"). The reality is that serving LE are their opposition, because LE is the ultimate agency of "Law and Order". They were, I submit, blinded by the propaganda and culture.
Many on the left support law enforcement quite vociferously - they just want it redirected. Joe Biden is a prime example of that. I spent 13 years of my career advising law enforcement agencies. I love these guys. But I also recognize their foibles. Much of law enforcement is assessing threats - be it on the street, in a domestic violence intervention, or in bigger-picture intelligence assessment. They can see the direct threat of some agitation because it is specific - take BLM. LE were enthusiastic about "enforcing the law" with regard to those protests because they were directed against policing - which they took personally. Antifa and Proud Boys are both chaos engines, seeking destruction and conflict, but they view them differently as a threat. One looks more like their "tribe" than the other, and that is a bias mistake that has cost them lives - not just at the Capitol, but repeatedly.
The FBI, being generally more clear-eyed about it, has identified white nationalism as the greatest domestic source of threat, but that perception does not permeate the LE community. It is time for LE agencies across the board to understand the threat and not hide in their own biases.
The answer, I think, is that Law Enforcement - at virtually every level - fails to see threats from "people like them". For some that is "white people", it is true, but the problem is more pervasive than just that. Ostensibly, Trump supporters "support" law enforcement - "Blue Lives Matter!" - so they shouldn't be a threat, right? That's part of the problem of believing your own press. Right/Reich-wing groups don't actually support law enforcement, even though many LE members are part of the cabal, that is just a convenient position in opposition to left-wing propaganda ("Defund the Police!"). The reality is that serving LE are their opposition, because LE is the ultimate agency of "Law and Order". They were, I submit, blinded by the propaganda and culture.
Many on the left support law enforcement quite vociferously - they just want it redirected. Joe Biden is a prime example of that. I spent 13 years of my career advising law enforcement agencies. I love these guys. But I also recognize their foibles. Much of law enforcement is assessing threats - be it on the street, in a domestic violence intervention, or in bigger-picture intelligence assessment. They can see the direct threat of some agitation because it is specific - take BLM. LE were enthusiastic about "enforcing the law" with regard to those protests because they were directed against policing - which they took personally. Antifa and Proud Boys are both chaos engines, seeking destruction and conflict, but they view them differently as a threat. One looks more like their "tribe" than the other, and that is a bias mistake that has cost them lives - not just at the Capitol, but repeatedly.
The FBI, being generally more clear-eyed about it, has identified white nationalism as the greatest domestic source of threat, but that perception does not permeate the LE community. It is time for LE agencies across the board to understand the threat and not hide in their own biases.