Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund writes in his upcoming book that the U.S. Capitol is still not secured against domestic terrorism attacks. He describes how the FBI, DHS, and the Pentagon failed on Jan. 6. He’s angry about it.

Sund delivers a firsthand account of the events on January 6, 2021, and how the federal government failed to stop the chaos that happened. He writes that the multibillion-dollar security network put in place after the domestic terrorism attacks of 9/11/01 to gather intelligence that could warn of an impending attack failed to provide any such protection on January 6. Sund writes that the FBI, DHS, and even the Capitol Police’s intelligence unit all had information of “chatter” about plans of an attack on the Capitol that day and had plenty of warning for the weeks ahead of January 6. Yet, the basic steps to assess the plots and sound an alarm were not taken. To add to the chaos, senior military leaders at the Pentagon delayed sending help, citing political optics and tactical worries. It was an epic fail all the way around.

Sund’s book, “Courage Under Fire”, explains that another attack on the Capitol and the failure to properly secure the building could happen again. He says many vulnerabilities have remained unfixed. The book is available today.

He was shocked at how outnumbered the police were that day, with protesters numbering about 10,000, he estimates. He said the police were outnumbered “58 to 1.’ His shock soon turned to agony, (his word, not mine) when military generals would not allow National Guard reinforcements to be sent in to help. He said by the time they sent help, it was too late and the Capitol had been overrun. He later found out that instead of sending help to the Capitol, the generals sent security teams to protect military officials’ homes in Washington, though none were under attack. Sund is particularly angry with leaders at the Pentagon. He tells a story of a conference call he had with two generals about 20 minutes after rioters had broken into the Capitol and lawmakers, including Vice-President Mike Pence scrambled to find hiding places. It was about 2:35 p.m. that afternoon.

Sund writes that Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt told him he didn’t like the optics of sending uniformed Guard troops to the Capitol, but could allow them to replace police officers at roadside checkpoints. Listening incredulously and trying to explain that he needed help to save officers’ lives, Sund said, he felt both “nauseated” and “mad as hell.”

“It’s a response I will never forget for the rest of my life,” Sund writes. While on the call, Sund recalls hearing the frantic voice of an officer being broadcast into the command center: “Shots fired in the Capitol, shots fired in the Capitol.”

Sund’s anger boiled over and he shouted the report of gunfire into the conference call: “Is that urgent enough for you now?” Then Sund hung up to deal with this new crisis.

A Pentagon spokesman, asked to respond to some of Sund’s claims, did not answer a question about his assertions that the military had beefed up security for top military officials’ homes on Jan. 6. The spokesman referred to a timeline released by the Defense Department spelling out leaders’ “planning and execution” related to the attack on the Capitol.

Piatt had initially denied saying anything about optics but later acknowledged that he had conferred with others on the call, and that it was possible he made comments to that effect. He testified he didn’t think he was rejecting using the Guard and instead was just saying that the military needed to create a plan for its use.

Yeesh. I’m sure I’m not alone in pondering out loud that day where security forces were and why weren’t they better prepared for the riot that broke out? They had weeks of warning to get prepared, to make a plan to secure the building no matter what happened.

Sund is not blameless here and he holds himself accountable. On January 6, he had been chief of the Capitol Police for 18 months and had a 25-year career with the D.C. police before that. He was known for his security planning for inaugurations and protests. So what happened here? Why did he drop the ball, too? He says he was never warned about red flags from the FBI, DHS, or his intelligence unit.

He resigned the day after the January 6 riot after Nancy Pelosi called for him to do so. Sund says he would have had a much different security plan in place if he had received word of the red flags.

And, what about Pelosi’s role in the security plan on January 6? Three days before that day, Sund anticipated large crowds and asked that National Guardsmen be placed on standby. His request was denied, he says, by the two sergeants-at-arms from the Senate and House. He later learned that they thought Pelosi would not allow the request.

The Capitol is still not properly secured and Sund says there will be more failures if another attack happens. Political leaders dictating decisions for security officials “is a recipe for disaster.”

He recommends that congressional leaders empower future Capitol Police chiefs to execute their own security plans alone, rather than having to report to a three-member Capitol Police Board made up of the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and the architect of the Capitol, a cumbersome structure that he says makes it impossible for the chief to act independently.

“The security apparatus that exists on Capitol Hill creates a no-win situation for whoever is chief. You have the Capitol Police Board, four oversight committees, and 535 bosses plus their staffs telling you what to do,” Sund writes.

Too much bureaucracy in the federal government. That’s nothing new. First, let’s hope this never happens again. Then let’s hope that security reforms are made and stop wasting taxpayer money on a bloated bureaucracy that doesn’t work when push comes to shove.