Secret Service held onto Pelosi threat until after insurrection
The Secret Service knew of a threat to Nancy Pelosi on January 6th days before the insurrection, but did not pass it along until hours after the Capitol had been breached, according to Secret Service emails obtained by CREW.
On January 4, Secret Service agents discovered a Parler account, which we’ve chosen not to name, posting a series of violent threats towards lawmakers. Other profiles with the same name appeared on Twitter, MeWe, Bitchute, Youtube and Facebook.
On December 31, the account posted, “January 6 starts #1776 all over again…Fight for EVERYTHING” and listed “Enemies,” including Pelosi. At 5:55 pm on January 6, after hours of defending the United States Capitol from a violent mob, the United States Capitol Police received the post along with a message from the Secret Service:
“Good afternoon, The US Secret Service is passing notification to the US Capitol Police regarding discovery of a social media threat directed toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”
The language used by the account, as we’ve now seen repeated in recordings released by the January 6th Committee, is a clear call for a violent overthrow of the American government on January 6, 2021.
It was far from the only troubling post the Secret Service found tied to this account. A Twitter post from the same day as the threat against Pelosi listed, “TIPS FOR THE BRAVE AND COURAGEOUS PATRIOTS GOING TO DC TO FORCE CONGRESS TO REFUSE BIDEN’S RIGGED ELECTION.” The “tips” included warnings such as “Keep MAGA gear hidden until AFTER checking in” at hotels, “DC is very BLUE and a hotbed for ANTIFA/BLM. Stay with the large group, especially at night,” and “be wary” of DC police officers.
As January 6 loomed, the threats got more specific.
“Biden will die shortly after being elected,” the account posted on January 2nd. “Patriots are gonna tear his head off. Prison is his best case scenario.”
“We’re all on a mission to save America. Lone wolf attacks are the way to go,” read a post the following day. “Stay anonymous. Stay alive. Guns up Patriots!!”
In the past month, we’ve learned that the Secret Service failed to prepare for violence on January 6 despite receiving explicit warnings, then deleted key evidence from the day, likely breaking the law. The delay in notifying Capitol Police about the threat to the Speaker of the House only adds to the impression that the agency failed to do its job, and leads to more questions. Why did the agency wait two days, until after the Capitol had been breached and Congressional leaders were in hiding to pass it along?