Capitol Hill Insurrection 'Far More Coordinated' Than Thought, Former Suffolk Sheriff Says

Capitol Breach The Latest — U.S. Capitol Police survey the corridor around the House of Representatives chamber after enhanced security protocols were enacted, including metal detectors for lawmakers, after a mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

January 14, 2021

Updated August 07, 2023

Former Suffolk County sheriff Andrea Cabral spoke to Boston Public Radio on Thursday about new details of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week.

"In the coming weeks, if not the coming days, what will be investigated and revealed about just how planned the siege on the Capitol was is going to probably surpass our shock levels," she said. “It really is shaping up to appear to have been a far more coordinated effort, both in terms of the actual onslaught itself and the woefully deficient response to it.”

Black police officers in the U.S. Capitol Police have warned about racism in their department for years, she noted.

“They have a really significant history of racism within the police department and problems with police officers being associated with white supremacist movements," she said. "So their take on everything that happened at the Capitol is that they were not at all surprised and will not be surprised if more officers are found to have been associated with the insurrectionists."

Currently, two U.S. Captiol Police officers have been suspended, one for taking a selfie with an insurrectionist and the other for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat on duty. At least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during the insurrection.