‘It’s Like They Wanted This to Happen,’ Texas Lawmaker Tells Jan. 6 Hearing

GOP Rep. Troy Nehls calls Jan. 6 an 'epic law-enforcement failure,' says Ashli Babbitt was murdered by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd

U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), joined by lawmakers and family members of January 6th prisoners, speaks during a press conference on the House January 6 Committee hearings on June 15, 2022, in Washington D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls told a House of Representatives hearing that January 6 was an “epic law-enforcement failure” in part because intelligence was not just ignored by senior leaders of Capitol Police, “it’s like they wanted this to happen.”

Appearing before a Jan. 6 “field hearing” of GOP lawmakers at the capitol visitor center, Nehls said intelligence about possible trouble at the Capitol was covered up at the highest levels of Capitol Police in the days and weeks before Jan. 6, 2021.

“January 6, folks, was a law-enforcement failure, an epic law-enforcement failure,” Nehls told a June 13 hearing hosted by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

“When you look at the December 15, the December 30, and the January 3 special events assessment, we knew that things were going to get ugly up here. It was quite clear.

“...They—meaning the leadership of the Capitol Police, i.e., Assistant Chief [Yogananda] Pittman, who’s no longer here—they had all the intelligence,” Nehls said. “They had all the intelligence that it was going to get ugly up here. Extremist groups from both sides, white supremacy groups. I mean, high propensity for violence.”

Police fire munitions into a crowd on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nehls repeated conclusions drawn in various oversight reports on Jan. 6 that the Capitol Police intelligence division, then headed by Pittman, failed to share critical information with other USCP leaders and the rank-and-file officers who ended up on the front lines when violence broke out.

Nehls took it a step further, suggesting something more nefarious.

‘Like They Wanted This’

“I believe that they hid the intelligence,” Nehls said. “It’s like they wanted this to happen.”

Nehls disclosed that Pittman, who is now chief of police at the University of California-Berkeley, recently appeared before the GOP-led Committee on House Administration to answer questions on Jan. 6. A source told The Epoch Times the meeting took place during the week of June 5-9.

Pittman became acting chief after Police Chief Steven Sund was forced to resign on Jan. 7, 2021. After J. Thomas Manger was hired as chief of police in mid-2021, Pittman went back to her previous job heading up the USCP intelligence division.

Pittman was heavily criticized by former USCP Lt. Tarik Johnson, who blamed her for not answering his calls for authorization to evacuate the U.S. Senate just before 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.

Johnson initiated the evacuation anyway and got senators and staff down to the subway mere seconds before protesters reached the vicinity of the Senate, unreleased security video reviewed by The Epoch Times shows.

Johnson was suspended by USCP on Jan. 9, 2021, and later left the department. Johnson said he believes his suspension and demotion were from his decision to evacuate the Senate and House chambers and because he reported to Congress that he was ordered to confiscate riot helmets from dozens of fellow officers in the days leading up to Jan. 6.

Officially Johnson’s discipline was because he wore a red “Make America Great Again” ball cap while he worked with two Oath Keepers to rescue 16 officers from just inside the Columbus Doors on the Capitol’s east side.

Incoming U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger poses with acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda D. Pittman during his swearing-in ceremony outside of the U.S. Capitol, on July 23, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Nehls laid much of the blame for Jan. 6 at Pittman’s feet.

“I wish I had five minutes with her because I’m telling you, if there’s one person that to me could have prevented this from taking place, it’s Ms. Pittman,” Nehls said. “And she should be held accountable because it was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. One of the darkest days, and they just sat on the intelligence. Shameful. We can never allow it to happen again.”

Pittman has declined to address media questions about Jan. 6, most recently through a university spokeswoman.

Nehls also expressed his belief that Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was murdered just outside the entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby at about 2:45 p.m. that day. Nehls was inside the House Chamber when USCP Lt. Michael Byrd fired one shot at Babbitt, who later died from the bullet wound.

“I was probably one of the first, I think, Paul [Gosar], you said it as well, I believe Ashli Babbitt was murdered that day,” Nehls said.

“I’m a sheriff. I’ve had deputies shoot and kill people,” said Nehls, who was sheriff of Fort Bend County, Texas, for eight years. “I’ve had, found deputies shot and killed. The point is I know a little bit about [the] use of force.

Rep Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Rep Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), and Rep Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) participate in a January 6th field hearing in the U.S. Capitol on June 13, 2023. (Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)

“And what disturbed me about that investigation into Lieutenant Byrd is it never went to a grand jury,” Nehls said. “You want to have the vote of confidence of the American people? Send every law enforcement shooting—justified, questionable, whatever—send it to a grand jury. It never went to a grand jury.”

Byrd’s identity was hidden from the public for months after Babbitt was killed. It only became known in August 2021 when Byrd sat for an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.

The U.S. Justice Department announced its decision not to pursue charges against Byrd in a three-sentence letter issued on April 14, 2021.

Documents obtained by Judicial Watch in June 2022 showed that the DOJ ruled there was “insufficient evidence” to contradict Byrd’s belief that his life was in danger as the unarmed Babbitt climbed into a broken window leading into the Speaker’s Lobby.

Byrd’s attorney has said his client’s actions on Jan. 6 were “heroic,” and he disputes any conclusion that the shooting was a homicide or other criminal violation.

Stan Kephart, a use-of-force expert who has testified in hundreds of court cases, concluded in 2022 that Babbitt was “murdered under the color of authority.”