'Everybody failed': A new Senate report found the FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies failed to realize Jan. 6 was coming

• A Senate-led probe of pre-January 6 intelligence failures faulted the FBI for not being more proactive.
• The new report concluded officials did not take the intelligence they did receive seriously enough before Jan. 6.

The FBI and another key federal agency failed to adequately appreciate the gravity of the situation and convey the possibility of violence before the Capitol riot, a review of the agencies' handling of intelligence before January 6 concluded.

The report found that FBI received a tip in December 2020 that the far-right Proud Boys planned to be in Washington. "[T]heir plan is to literally kill people," the tip read. "Please please take this tip seriously and investigate further."

Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who ordered the report, told the Associated Press that it "defies an easy explanation" why so much of the intelligence that was collected was dismissed. Peters called the sheer intelligence the agencies had "massive."

"Everybody should be accountable because everybody failed," he said.

Just two days before the riot, Justice Department leadership became aware of multiple concerning posts, including "[c]alls to occupy federal buildings," discussions of "invading the capitol building," and individuals "arm[ing] themselves and to engage in political violence at the event."

The investigation focused entirely on intelligence failures before the attack. Peters' committee staffers focused their findings on the "two primary domestic intelligence agencies," the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

"Those agencies failed to fully and accurately assess the severity of the threat identified by that intelligence, and formally disseminate guidance to their law enforcement partners with sufficient urgency and alarm to enable those partners to prepare for the violence that ultimately occurred on January 6th," the report concludes in its executive summary.

Peters said that officials pointed fingers at other failures when asked about what happened. Top Trump-era officials often placed blame on the US Capitol Police.

"I can't explain to you why that perimeter did not hold. Someone from the Capitol Police has to explain that," former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue told committee investigators. "But their only responsibility was the Capitol, and they had more than enough personnel and resources to secure it throughout that day."

Investigators previously found that US Capitol Police leadership did not properly train, equip, or share intelligence before January 6. Nevertheless, they conclude "FBI and DOJ had received a multitude of tips and other intelligence" but did not share that information with Capitol Police.

In response to the report, the FBI said in a statement that it is "constantly trying to learn and evaluate what we can do better or differently, and this is especially true of the attack on the U.S. Capitol."

"We also made improvements to assist investigators and analysts in all of our field offices throughout the investigative process, including centralizing the flow of information to ensure timely notifications so they can take appropriate action on potential threats," the bureau said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security emphasized that it had already ordered a review of its Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

"Since the attack, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has strengthened intelligence analysis, information sharing, and operational preparedness to help prevent acts of violence and keep our communities safe," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.