WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned former and current top law enforcement officials on the multiple failures that occurred during the January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol – putting lawmakers, their families, Capitol Police Officers, and Congressional and Capitol Complex staff at risk. His questioning came during a joint hearing held by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration – on which Senator King serves as a member – and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“It seems to me one of the clear pieces of information we've learned today is an intelligence failure,” said Senator King. “Not necessarily a failure of intelligence, but a failure to communicate intelligence and I think that's something that we all need to think about, and you can be very helpful to us in suggesting what should be the chain of communication in terms of intelligence. You can't adequately prepare if you don't have the information. And it clearly seems to me there were some failures…

“The question is, how do we protect the Capitol from either an angry mob, or probably more likely one or two or three malignant actors without turning it into a fortress,” added Senator King. “How do we allow the American people to go in the Rotunda and tour the Capitol, to picnic on the grounds, to play with their kids – it seems to me that going forward that's really one of the challenges. We want security but we don't – I would hate to see the U.S. Capitol turned into a fortress… we don't want the United States Capitol to be so protected that it's inaccessible to the American people.”

On January 6th, Senator King condemned the insurrectionists’ violent actions, and emphasized that they must be “arrested, prosecuted, and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” The following day, he spoke with CBS’s 60 Minutes about the tragedy of that day and how we can work to “repair the tattered fabric of both the United States Senate and the country at large” as we move forward. Earlier this month, Senator King voted to impeach the former President, citing President Trump’s dangerous rhetoric as the motivating factor in inciting the insurrection.  

Witnesses at today’s hearing included Paul Irving, Former Sergeant-at-Arms (2012-2021), U.S. House of Representatives; Steven Sund, Former Chief Of Police (2019-2021), U.S. Capitol Police; Michael Stenger, Former Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper (2018-2021), U.S. Senate; and Robert Contee III, Acting Chief Of Police, Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.