On Thursday, during a hearing in the chamber, Congressman Troy Nehls of Texas called out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the January 6 Committee for failing to prepare appropriately for the safety and security of the Nation’s Capitol in 2020.
During a roughly 3-minute speech from the House floor, Nehls referred to an internal intelligence briefing from January 3, 2020, in which federal intelligence agents warned of the impending violence and possible protests that would occur just three days later.
“Congress itself is the target” as a “worry-some call for violence” has been identified, and a “possibility that protestors may be inclined to become violent,” he read from the briefing. The briefing said that there was concern the day’s events would attract “white supremacists” and “militia members,” who, the memo said, “actively promote violence.”
Ultimately it conveyed the day’s events may lead to a “significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike.”
The stark warning was issued just days before the January 6 riots at the capitol; a notice shared with the U.S. Capitol Police.
Nehls asked the Speaker, “So, why didn’t they request the National Guard?” He was referring to the U.S. Capitol Police, tasked with guarding the nation’s capital and preserving peace.
Nehls said shortly after the events, he was able to speak to former D.C. National Guard Commander William Walker about the events of January 6.
He asked Walker, “If the National Guard have been on our Nation’s Capitol on January 4, as the intelligence called for, would January 6 have ever happened?”
Walker replied, “No.”
Nehls reiterated that the U.S. Capitol Police failed to prepare and do their job as expected.
He then turned his attention to the January 6 Committee, calling it a “sham committee” that continues to give the U.S. Capitol Police a “free pass.”
He said the committee is clearly “not about finding the truth” but rather a “sad attempt to try and put the blame on Donald Trump.”
He noted that the committee focused on keeping Trump from being a nominee for the 2024 Presidential Election because, as Nehls put it, “they cannot beat him.”
He criticized Democrats, saying they know they cannot win an election “fairly,” but instead, they choose to use “every dirty trick in the book and try to cheat their way to a win.”
Nehls concluded his speech by highlighting that the American people will “have their voices heard” at the polls in November because he believes they see through the “sham.”