A whistleblower who was a member of the U.S. Capitol Police on Jan. 6 has accused two senior leaders on the force of mishandling intelligence reports and failing to adequately prepare the department ahead of the riots that disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election and left multiple people dead.
The letter, first obtained by Politico and later shared with NBC News and CNN, alleges that assistant chief of police for protective and intelligence operations Yogananda D. Pittman and acting assistant chief Sean Gallagher failed to share intelligence with the entirety of the force's leadership team and have yet to face consequences for their actions.
The letter focuses on an intelligence report the Capitol Police received in December 2020 that indicated that Trump supporters had created a map of the Capitol campus and were encouraging others to arm themselves on Jan. 6.
While Pittman told investigators in April that senior officials in the department were aware of the report, the whistleblower letter alleges that the report was not distributed to the full Capitol Police command staff.
"The single most important piece of intelligence information ... was never shared with any members of USCP leadership," the letter reads, according to Politico. "Why did they approve the operational plan for the 6th if they knew the intelligence?"
The whistleblower's letter also claims that while rioters were pouring into the building, Pittman and Gallagher did little to assist their colleagues.
According to Politico, during the riots, the two sat "mostly with their hands in their laps" and "did not try to help or assist as officers and officials were literally fighting for each other, their lives and the Congress."
Finally, the whistleblower alleged that officers have since resigned from the Capitol Police en masse because Pittman and Gallagher have yet to face the consequences for their actions.
"This concerted effort to protect the two members of the Department without question the most responsible for the tragic events of January 6th is repulsive," the letter reads.
The letter was dated Sept. 28 and addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
In response, the Capitol Police told Politico that it has since made several policy changes since Jan. 6, including the way it shares intelligence information.
