Last Updated on February 17, 2022
Despite media reports saying the bomb squad was not called to the RNC building in Washington, D.C. until “around 12:45 p.m.” on Wednesday, January 6, multiple D.C. police bomb squad vehicles and personnel were seen outside the building at 9:54 a.m., multiple sources confirm.
According to the Associated Press, “It was around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday when U.S. Capitol Police” and other law enforcement responded to reports of a bomb at the RNC.
However, multiple sources confirmed to National File that they witnessed bomb squad vehicles outside the RNC at 9:54 a.m., using location tracking apps to provide the exact time.
Additionally, National File first learned that bomb squad personnel were outside the RNC on January 6, when one source called National File at 10:36 a.m. to offer insight as to the day’s events, which at that point were still entirely peaceful. National File was told that the RNC was “completely deserted” except for a few politicians, and that “there are loads of police and bomb squad outside.”
Recounting seeing the vehicles that morning, one source told National File, “There was no sense of emergency among the responding bomb squad officers, several of whom were laughing with each other, and joking about the prospect of political violence.”
Additionally, this source revealed that he spoke to Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) while at the RNC, and suggested he would have seen bomb squad vehicles outside the building.
“Two Trump supporting Tea Party types from Pennsylvania also witnessed it,” the source added.
Perhaps defeating the notion that President Donald Trump incited the individuals who were seen breaking into and trespassing in the Capitol building, National Public Radio recently interviewed former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who said he believes the bombs were a “diversionary tactic” to take attention away from the storming of the building.
“Those were diversionary tactics to pull resources away from the Hill in advance of that attack,” said Sund. “I honestly believe that.”
A second bomb was reported near the DNC building shortly after police safely detonated the bomb at the RNC. It is unknown if the two events were related, or if the bomb squad members were similarly seen outside the DNC.
National File contacted the United States Capitol Police and asked if they could confirm their personnel were outside the RNC headquarters prior to “around 12:45 p.m.” and did not receive an immediate response.
