On Thursday August 17th, Fmr. Capitol Police Lieutenant Tarik Johnson requested evidence from InvestigateJ6 of Deputy Chief Waldow’s order to fire into the crowd, that J6er’s and J6 advocates contend was illegal. See our open letter to Lt. Tarik Johnson below explaining the first USCP use of force against protestors on January 6th, and the subsequent uses of force that followed.

Was the escalation of force that preceded all events on Jan 6 required, and lawful?

Tarik, I will ask that you take your time reading this and explore all the evidence provided.

Summary: Within the first minutes of protestors arriving at the Capitol on January 6th at 1:00 PM, Deputy Chief Waldow misrepresented conditions on the ground in radio transmissions to justify escalating force, and in effect incited protestors to violence. There is no evidence he or his officers gave any sufficient warnings before or after opening fire, contrary to his claims. The first recorded warning given, found in officer bodycam footage, came from DC officers one hour later, using an LRAD unit at 2:03 PM before authorizing CS gas at 2:10 PM.

The USCP and MPD ‘Less Lethal’ Timeline:

12:59 PM

• Protestors first set foot on the West Plaza.

• USCP Deputy Chief Waldow (Unit 6) orders Less Lethal Team:
  • [“Unit 6… I need less lethal team… they can come up from the upper west terrace and take an elevated position.“] – [Waldow]

1:00 PM

• One minute later USCP Less Lethal Team moves into place
  • [“CDU 61… Less Lethal team is at the top of the stage in place… 1300 hrs.”] – [Civil Disturbance Unit]

1:06 PM

• USCP Deputy Chief Waldow Orders Less Lethal Team to “Launch.”
  • [“Unit 6… I’ve got a crowd fighting with officers…Pushing, throwing projectiles. I have given warnings about chemical munitions. I need less lethal teams positioned above me to identify agitators and start deploying… Launch, Launch, LAUNCH!”] – [Waldow]

• USCP Inspector Loyd gives the Less Lethal team a signal to fire into the crowd.

• Radio: MPD officers approaching.
  • [“ICF 138… We have a group of MPD officers coming up the SW walkway to get up
    onto the Upper West Terrace“]

1:07 PM

• USCP Less Lethal team fires into the crowd for the first time striking Joshua Black with a rubber bullet in the cheek.

Peaceful Protestor Joshua Black shot with a yellow rubber bullet through the cheek.

Watch: Crowd is peaceful after being fired upon. Protesters are agitated, but are not rioting or assaulting officers and instead helping injured Joshua Black.

1:09 PM

• [“CDU… Two extra less lethal officers en route now.”] – [Civil Disturbance Unit]
• [“485… MPD squads coming around from the South Side Upper West Terrace.”] – [485]

1:10 PM

• USCP Deputy Chief Waldow orders second deployment of munitions.
  • [“Unit 6… I need more less-than lethal teams over here,” Deputy Chief Waldow broadcast at 1:10 p.m. “The indirect firing is not working. They are still not compliant. I’ve continued to give multiple warnings about chemical munitions being released. They are not dispersing.“] – [Waldow]
  • [“We need more units with non-lethal, South West Terrace. They can come in upper west terrace and take an elevated position.] – [Waldow]

• USCP Less Lethal team fires into the crowd for a second time striking their own officers with pepper ball rounds.

1:12 PM

• MPD Police teams 54, 64 and 74 begin to arrive on West Plaza front line and immediately escalate, spraying and fighting with protestors.

1:18 PM

• [“Unit 6… We need the munitions… unload… unload it all! Take them out!“] – [Waldow]
• USCP Less Lethal team fires into the crowd for a third time.

• Additional members of MPD Police teams 54, 64 and 74 park on the SW corner and unload cases of 40mm Explosive Munitions.

DC Police Officer Tara Tindall and her unit arrive at the SW corner of the US Capitol with Explosive Munitions.