By Viviane Faver
Despite social media posts announcing the rebellion, a senior FBI official said there was no way to predict what would happen.
“Social media is only part of a complete picture of intelligence, and while there was activity protected by the First Amendment on social media to include some people making threats, to this point, investigators have not discovered that there was an organized plot to access the Capitol. “
Nevertheless, D.C. police chief Robert Contee insisted that they had no prior knowledge of the attack. “There was no intelligence to suggest that there would be a violation of the U.S. Capitol.”
However, there is another version. The source, 8kun, a message board website used by QAnon, an alleged far-right group, advocated that “patriots” go to the area specifically to commit acts of violence.
“You can go to Washington on Jan 6 and help storm the Capitol,” said an 8kun user. “As many Patriots as can be. We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount.”
Digital notices were also posted on Instagram and Facebook last month with the caption: “Operation Occupy the Capitol.
According to a senior FBI official, the FBI obtained reliable and actionable information about individuals who planned to travel to the protests and expressed a desire to engage in violence.
