US Justice Department watchdog launches probe into Capitol riot

Washington, Jan 16 : The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General announced that it will launch an investigation into violent protests staged by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump at the Capitol building on January 6.
The Office said in a statement on Friday that it will initiate a review “to examine the role and activity of DOJ and its components in preparing for and responding to the events at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021”, Xinhua news agency reported.
The investigation will be led by Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
It will involve efforts from the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Interior, and assess whether information of potential violence was shared by the DOJ to other agencies, including the Capitol Police, which was criticised for insufficient preparation for the riot that left five people, including a Capitol Police officer, dead.
The probe will also “assess whether there are any weaknesses in DOJ protocols, policies, or procedures that adversely affected the ability of DOJ or its components to prepare effectively for and respond to the events at the US Capitol on January 6”, the statement said.
The Washington Post first reported on Tuesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) office in Norfolk, Virginia, explicitly warned of violent extremists planning a “war” in Washington, D.C., on January 6 to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory at Congress.