Documents obtained by hackers reveal how police stepped up surveillance in the wake of the 6 January events at the Capitol in Washington, DC, The Guardian reported.
A collection of documents labelled “chiefs intelligence briefings” reveals a cross-agency effort to identify, monitor and apprehend suspects in the wake of the Capitol riot, as well as to prepare for possible attacks on Washington, the outlet said.
According to a 13 January bulletin, the Patriot Action for America group, had been “calling for others to join them in ‘storming’ state, local, and federal government courthouses and administrative buildings in the event POTUS is removed as president prior to inauguration day”.
Parler had been enjoying an influx of users, frustrated by major social media platforms suspending ex-President Donald Trump’s accounts under the pretext of "incitement of violence” after the riots. The platform was banned Apple, Google, and Amazon, citing a lack of moderation after the media claimed the Capitol rioters on 6 January used the app to coordinate their actions. The App, however, came back on Apple’s App Store this week, promising more extensive moderation.
The leaked January document also mentions a “possible second suspect” in the placement of pipe bombs near the DNC and RNC, “observed on video scouting/taking photographs in advance of the placement.”
Another bulletin dated 22 January includes information about a man in Pennsylvania, who was arrested after “transmitting interstate threats to multiple US senators of the Democratic party”.
The man was “in possession of a rifle, two handguns, and a large quantity of ammunition” when arrested by the authorities, the bulletin said.
Another bulletin from later on said that Metropolitan police were cooperating with Capitol police in investigating “a number of threats aimed at members of Congress as the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump nears”.
The document also described how the law enforcement agencies worked with private companies such as hotels or even ride-share companies like Lyft and Uber to identify people.
The 6 January mayhem at the Capitol, when the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington in Trump’s support morphed into a riot, with dozens of people storming the Capitol building, prompted the deployment of US National Guard troops in the area for months afterwards.
Trump was accused of “inciting an insurrection” and impeached by the US House of Representatives, but was later acquitted by the US Senate. The former US president, who called on supporters to oppose Joe Biden's nomination “peacefully” during the rally, denied any wrongdoing, saying that what he said was “totally appropriate".
