Secret Service withheld threat against Speaker Pelosi from Capitol Police until Jan 6, watchdog

The Secret Service withheld from the U.S. Capitol Police force a threat against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot until after the incident began, according to a recent watchdog report. 

On Wednesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) published a report including copies of emails from around the time of the riot that it had obtained between officials. 

One email from the Secret Service shows that 5:55 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, the agency was "passing notification to the US Capitol Police regarding discovery of a social media threat directed toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

Secret Service became aware of violent threats made on a Parler as early as Dec. 31, 2020, according to CREW.

One post reads: "January 6 starts #1776 all over again!! Fight for God! Fight for Your Freedom!! Fight for Your Children!! Fight for Trump!! Fight for America!! Fight for EVERYTHING… Enemies: #MSM #BarackObama #HillaryClinton #GeorgeSoros #JoeBiden #AndrewCuomo #GavinNewsom #NancyPelosi #BillDeBlasio."

On Jan. 2, the Parler account holder posted: "Biden will die shortly after being elected. Patriots are gonna tear his head off. Prison is his best case scenario."

The next day, another post read: "We're all on a mission to save America. Lone wolf attacks are the way to go. "Stay anonymous. Stay alive. Guns up Patriots!!"

In a statement to The Hill, the Secret Service said, "While we do not comment on issues pertaining to protective intelligence, the United States Secret Service has an outstanding working relationship with all law enforcement agencies in the National Capitol Region."

The Secret Service works tirelessly to share pertinent information with our law enforcement partners. In the communication where there was a reference to Speaker Pelosi, that information was provided to the US Capitol Police for their situational awareness."