Rep. Zoe Lofgren described the radio broadcast, the existence of which was not previously known, during a House Administration Committee hearing on security issues surrounding the January 6 attack.
In that broadcast, the officer said, “Watch all units on the field, we are not looking for a pro-Trump in the crowd. We are only looking for anti-pro-Trump who wants to start a fight,” according to Lofgren, a California Democrat.
Lofgren, who chairs the committee, said she quoted from a report of the radio conversation found by the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility during its ongoing review of allegations related to officers’ conduct on Jan. 6. She did not identify the officer.
A Capitol Police spokesman told CNN that the described radio communication took place around 8 a.m. on the day of the riot. The spokesman added that the communication was intended to guide officers to also look for clashes between pro-Trump protesters and counter-protesters. The official who made the comment is not under investigation, the spokesman said.
Neither Capitol Police nor Congress released the broadcast’s audio, despite requests to do so.
Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton said he had not yet read internal reports of the investigation – which CNN reported last month were allegations against 36 agents – but planned to do so as soon as the review was completed.
A committee assistant told CNN that Lofgren’s interrogation approach underscores the point that, based on the information available at the time, the USCP had sufficient reason to expect violence from pro-Trump protesters targeting the Capitol and lawmakers, but rhetoric online … USCP supervisors apparently still advised their frontline officers on the morning of 1/6 to focus on and prioritize anti-Trump protesters. “
In the future, Bolton will “be able to review the radio broadcasts, and he plans to review the findings generally and the command and control communications, knowing that there is now a specific allegation about those communications that he was there. specifically, “said the assistant. .
Praise’s description of the radio broadcast in question provides a rare insight into the type of Capitol Police behavior being looked at as part of the ongoing investigation.
One of the suspended agents took a selfie with someone who was part of the crowd that caught up with the Capitol, Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio, said at the time. Another wore a “Make America Great Again” hat and started guiding people around the building, Ryan added.
Acting USCP chief Yogananda Pittman said in January that the department “was actively reviewing video and other open source material from some USCP officers and officials that appear to violate the department’s regulations and policies” .
This story has been updated with comments from a Capitol Police spokesperson.
CNN’s Whitney Wild contributed to this report.