At least 20 Capitol police officers test positive for COVID-19 after riot

Questions now swirl about whether the maskless, pro-Trump Capitol stormers infected law enforcement at a superspreader event.

Reports are emerging out of Washington that at least 20 U.S. Capitol Police officers have active cases of COVID-19. The infections mark the largest number of cases in the force in months and follow the deadly Jan. 6 siege at the Capitol.

And now, questions are swirling about whether the maskless, pro-Donald Trump rioters infected law enforcement at a superspreader event.

U.S. Capitol police patrol before the start of Wednesday’s inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris into the respective presidency and vice presidency in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

The diagnosed officers are quarantining at home, and the Capitol Building remains under strict security protocols, with tens of thousands of National Guard members still occupying the grounds.

In addition to the Capitol officers who tested positive, a host of others present are quarantining after contact tracing.

According to The New York Post, the department hasn’t offered a statement on the matter. However, officers present are not the only ones who may have contracted coronavirus during the siege. Three lawmakers also tested positive for COVID-19 afterward.

Seven Senate Democrats have requested ethics investigations into the actions of the Republican senators who continued to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election, even after the insurrection.

Additionally, the FBI is investigating if there is a larger conspiracy into its planning.

Perhaps most significantly, the U.S. Department of Justice inspector general’s office has opened an investigation into the federal government’s failure to respond to potential intelligence and security protocol failures before the riot.

“The DOJ OIG also will assess whether there are any weaknesses in DOJ protocols, policies or procedures that adversely affected the ability of DOJ or its components to prepare effectively for and respond to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6,” department officials said in a statement.

The Office of the Inspector General’s investigation is one of several probes examining the events before, during and after the Jan. 6 Capitol storming that left four people dead, including a police officer.

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