Currents 023: Terry Gainer on the January 6th Riot



Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief, Terry Gainer talks to Jim about his views on the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol…

In this Currents episode, Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief, Terry Gainer talks to Jim about his views on the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. He discusses shortcomings in preparations, intelligence, and operations, highlights failure to adjust as new information came in, describes issues with the chain of command that impacted both preparation and response,  the role of “optics” in protest preparations, how macro failure arose from several smaller ones, examines claims of police & military collusion with the rioters, positive aspects of the law enforcement response, and much more.

Terry Gainer began his law enforcement career as a police officer in the Chicago Police Department and rose through the ranks, including serving as a homicide detective and after gaining a law degree, Chief Legal Officer.  He served as Deputy Inspector General, Deputy Director, and Director of the Illinois State Police. In 1998, Terry was named Executive Assistant Chief of Police for the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department.  In 2002 he was selected as Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.  From January 2007 to May 2014, Terry served as the 38th United States Senate Sergeant at Arms. While serving as Sergeant at Arms, Mr. Gainer was appointed a commissioner on the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, and served as Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security, to advance the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute by assisting in strengthening security institutions.