The U.S. Secret Service received a tip ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that white nationalists planned to “literally kill people” in Washington that day, according to the House select committee investigating the matter.
The tip was relayed to the agency by the FBI on Dec. 26, 2020, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) revealed in the committee’s final public hearing on Thursday.
“They think that they will have a large enough group to march into DC armed and will outnumber the police so they can’t be stopped ... Their plan is to literally kill people. Please please take this tip seriously,” the tipster said, referring to the Proud Boys street gang.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump gathered in Washington that day to join his call to “stop the steal,” referring to the Senate’s role in certifying the election won by Joe Biden. After Trump spoke, hundreds of people marched on the Capitol, entering the building without authorization, attacking police and damaging property.
Five members of the Proud Boys — including leader Enrique Tarrio — were indicted earlier this year on seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the attack.
The text messages and emails released by the committee on Thursday further showed how the Secret Service received warnings in December 2020 that protesters could “start marching into the chambers” of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6.
A separate government intelligence report warned about “calls to occupy federal buildings” and the threat of protesters “invading the capitol building” just two days before the attack.
“I saw several other alerts saying they will storm the capitol if he doesn’t do the right thing,” read a Secret Service email sent at 10:43 a.m. on Jan. 6.
Secret Service agents spotted numerous guns in the crowd that morning before Trump’s speech outside the White House, according to more texts and emails presented by the committee.