Capitol Police To Hold First Joint Training Exercise On Capitol Grounds Since Riots

Five months after the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol, “a routine training exercise” will be held Monday morning by federal, state, and local agencies on the Capitol grounds.

The announcement Saturday on Twitter by the U.S. Capitol Police about the joint exercise cautioned, “Please do not be alarmed if you see emergency vehicles and low flying helicopters.” A message about the event from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department added, “During this time, emergency vehicles and personnel may be seen moving around the grounds.”

Few Available Details

This is believed to be the first such training exercise on the Capitol grounds since the January 6 takeover of the government building. Other than the Capitol Police, no information was provided about which agencies will participate in the exercise, how many people will be involved or the scenarios that will serve as the basis for the training.

In response to a request for details about the exercise, the Capitol Police told me, “the only details we are disclosing at this time are what we tweet. We have done similar exercises in the past.”

The law enforcement agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details such as the size and scope of the exercise or why it was scheduled for Monday. Requests for comment and information about the exercise from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the U.S. Secret Service were not immediately answered.

Advance Notification

The exercise will apparently be large enough—or loud enough—to merit being announced on the Washington DC government’s community alert notification system snd on neighborhood blogs across the city.

The announcements should help ensure people and news organizations are not surprised or concerned because of what they see or hear about the helicopters, emergency vehicles, and law enforcement personnel on the grounds of the Capitol—or jump to the wrong conclusions.

Crisis Management Lessons

As I wrote in earlier posts, the January riots have provided several crisis management lessons for business leaders, including the importance of knowing the facts about a crisis, having a plan and contingency plans, and having an effective and responsive chain of command.

Next week’s scheduled exercise will likely yield other critical lessons: the importance of preparing for the next crisis; testing crisis management plans, procedures, policies and response teams to ensure they will work when needed; and learning from your mistakes to help guarantee they are not repeated in the next crisis.

Riots’ Aftermath

National Guard

Two weeks ago the last contingent of National Guard troops who had been called in protect the Capitol in the aftermath of the riots left Washington. The fencing that had been hastily erected around the perimeter of the Capitol was dismantled in March.

Investigations And Hearings

The New York Times reported in April that, “The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which ‘Congress itself is the target.’ But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agency’s internal investigator.”

The House Administration Committee, which oversees the Capitol Police, has held several public hearings about the events of January 6. Last month the House passed legislation to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the riots. Republicans blocked the measure from being passed by the Senate.

Arrests

According to USA Today, “Federal prosecutors have charged more than 400 people in more than 40 states with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and arrests continue almost daily.”