Six Officers Suspended –

Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Khalid Johnson in MAGA CAP, suspended: Video screen shot, Google

By Glynn Wilson –

In more evidence that some Capitol Police officers were in on the stand down order and inside job we reported first to allow Trump supporters to enter the building during the insurrection on January 6, it has been announced that six officers have been suspended and at least 35 others are still under investigation.

The action was confirmed in a statement by Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittmank first reported by Fox 5 News in Washington, D.C., WTTG.

Pittman indicated that any officer whose actions are found to be unacceptable on Jan. 6 will be disciplined.

“Our Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the actions of 35 police officers from that day. We currently have suspended six of those officers with pay,” the department said in the statement. “Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has directed that any member of her department whose behavior is not in keeping with the Department’s Rules of Conduct will face appropriate discipline.”

Some Capitol Police officers were caught on video watching and helping the rioters move past barricades, go up the Capitol steps and enter the building, while others looked on and even left the building without even attempting to stop the breach, even as other officers were protecting members of Congress by moving them inside to secure locations.

In this video posted to YouTube, Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Khalid Johnson can be seen wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap while talking to several supporters of President Donald Trump. He turned over his bull horn to one group of domestic terrorists and led them up the steps and into one of the Capitol doors.

Officer Johnson — who has since been suspended from the department — donned the MAGA cap in order to gain the protesters’ trust so they could get him through the crowd and into the building so he could save his fellow officers, the conservative Wall Street Journal first reported, although in the video, the officers were seen leaving the building to let the rioters in.

At one point in the video, Johnson, 45, gives his megaphone to one of the protesters and says, “I’ll follow you.” He then leads them up the steps, gets them to open a hole in the crowd so some officers can exit, and opens the way for them to join the insurrectionists in the Capitol.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged more than 250 for storming the Capitol during a vicious attack that left five dead, including veteran Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Two officers who responded to the bloody attack committed suicide days later.

As a result of inciting the insurrection, Trump was impeached for the second time, but the Senate failed to convict him.

Videos posted to social media in the aftermath of the assault showed that some Capitol Police officers took selfies with the attackers. Other officers appeared to give the attackers directions, sparking outrage among members of Congress, whose lives were in danger during the riot.

In addition to internal police probes, Congress plans to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate how the attackers were able to get into the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

Former President Donald Trump — whose call for the attackers to “fight like hell” inspired the insurrection — is likely to face continued scrutiny as part of the forthcoming commission inquiry as well as criminal charges and civil lawsuits.

Ad 1: USA Today ran a weird version of this story, reporting that the officers were suspended “without pay,” and the union representing the racist officers calling it a “witch hunt,” a statement reminiscent of Trump himself.

Capitol Police uinion chairman Gus Papathanasiou issued a statement, saying he could not comment on specific investigations “because they’re private personal matters,” but “these investigations appear to be an attempt by USCP’s upper management to divert the attention away from their significant leadership failures of January 6th.”

Asking why chiefs were not under investigation or suspended, Papathanasiou called it “sickening” the department would investigate the officers “because of USCP’s top management’s immediate failures as they try to point the fingers at officers who were applauded by Congress this past week.”

While his response is quite pathetic, and does not give one much trust in the union being more for the Constitution than the fascist dictator who incited the insurrection, he does have a point.

As we have been reporting, a full investigation would include a close look at a tacit stand down order by Trump and his acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller, along with the involvement of Sergeants at Arms for the House and Senate and the Capitol Police Chief, all who immediately resigned after the event. It would also include Republican members of Congress who were involved in planning and carrying out the insurrection.

Pittman is part of a group of top law enforcement officials invited to testify before two top Senate panels on Tuesday; she is set to testify before a key House panel overseeing the department’s funding next week.

Related: Mississippi Congressman and NAACP Sue Trump and Giuliani for Inciting Violent Capitol Insurrection