Capitol Cops Blame Pentagon for the Insurrection, In What Will Surely Be a Yearslong Beef

It hasn’t been terribly long since the Senate heard evidence that the rioters at the January 6 insurrection breeched the Capitol because then-President Donald Trump invited them—evidence that simply wasn’t enough to convince the Senate that the MAGA gear-clad crowd was connected to the Trump rally outside. So now the Senate seems to be left with the task of asking law enforcement and military agencies one by one, “Was the riot your fault?”

According to Senate testimony by Capitol police, their agency is just as innocent in the attempted coup as Donald Trump. The blame, instead, should go to the Pentagon, they say, which just fucked up royally, according to Politico:

“[Capitol Police Chief Steven] and acting D.C. police chief Robert Contee described to senators a conference call that afternoon with senior security personnel during which a top Pentagon official, Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, said he would recommend against deploying the National Guard for fear of the “optics” of armed troops in front of the Capitol. Sund and Contee said they informed Piatt that their officers, already beleaguered and beaten by the mob, were desperate for help.”

For two hours after “rioters had planted two explosives nearby, breached the Capitol and battered police officers with clubs, mace and other weapons” the Pentagon was still moving requests for aid up the chain of command, testimony revealed. Next up, Senators Gary Peters and Amy Klobuchar have demanded the Pentagon answer to these allegations.

If I were on Family Feud and the question was “What would Pentagon say to charges it was ineffective at stopping a mob from breaching the U.S. Capitol?” my answer would be “I know you are, but what am I?” My family would then guess more answers, which might include “Homeland security did it” and “We’re not allowed to discuss ongoing threats to national security at this time.”

But the big money question remains: According to a Senate poll of every human being at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, who was responsible for the insurrection against the United State government? My money is on the Senate eventually settling on the most convenient answer: no one.