Capitol Police blame intelligence services for leaving them ‘significantly outnumbered’ during January 6 riot

Steven Sund, former Capitol chief of police, speaks during the hearing

Credit: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo/Bloomberg

The joint hearing by the Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Rules Committee is the first time the officials have testified publicly about the events of that day.

Senators heard that a report was sent by email a day before the riot by the FBI which warned of an impending “war”. 

Washington Metropolitan Police acting Chief Robert Contee said a warning of that level "would warrant a phone call or something."

Mr Sund was said he was unaware of the report and it had not been passed to him until after the insurrection.

It is understood that officials from the Department of Defence will be called to give evidence next week.

There was also disagreement over when the National Guard was called. Mr Sund said he made the call at 1:09pm, and was said to have “literally pleaded” for Army support.

But Paul Irving, the former House sergeant-at-arms and one of Mr Sund’s superiors said he didn’t receive a request until after 2 p.m.

Robert Contee said he was “stunned” at the delay, and supported Mr Sund’s claim that the call was made early.

He said that police "were out there literally fighting for their lives" but the officials on the call appeared to be going through a "check the boxes" exercise asking about the optics of stationing National Guard troops at the Capitol.

In pictures: Donald Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol Building

Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar said at the beginning of the hearing: “We must have the facts, and the answers are in this room."

 Five people died as a result of the violence on January 6, including a Capitol Police officer and a woman who was shot by police as she tried to break through the doors of the House chamber with lawmakers still inside.

The hearing is the first of many examinations of what happened that day, coming almost seven weeks after the attack and over one week after the Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump of inciting the insurrection by telling his supporters to "fight like hell" to overturn his election defeat. 

Thousands of National Guard troops still surround the Capitol in a wide perimeter, cutting off streets and sidewalks that are normally full of cars, pedestrians and tourists.