by Debra Heine, American Greatness:
A former U.S. Capitol Police lieutenant declared in a recent social media post that “EVERY demonstrator and EVERY police officer there on J6 was set-up.” According to former Capitol Police Lt. Tarik “T.K.” Johnson, “every officer was totally blindsided.”
Johnson, who was suspended three days after the Capitol riot for wearing a Trump hat, revealed on Sunday that a “VERY big name” had reached out to him for an interview. In the past year, the former lieutenant has become increasingly vocal about what he witnessed on January 6, 2021.
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In his first broadcast interview after the riot, Johnson accused former Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman of ignoring his repeated calls for direction as the protest spun out of control. Johnson told NPR in January of 2023 that Pittman was the only commander he heard over the radio, “so I heard her, so I said something to the effect that, ‘the Capitol is breached, we have hundreds of demonstrators in the building, what do you want us to do? We need some direction.’ I didn’t hear anything so I was thinking ‘Oh Jesus Christ, we’re going to die here.’”
The former lieutenant told NPR he wore the MAGA hat because he thought it “could be a de-escalation tool and a way to protect myself, since people would be less likely to attack me if I was wearing a MAGA hat.”
He explained how, with the help of two Oath Keepers, he was able to reach some overrun officers at the top of the Capitol steps and guide them to safety. After video of his interactions with the Oath Keepers was posted online, he was accused of “sympathizing with the attackers” and received death threats.
Johnson told NPR he was deeply hurt that he was not given a Congressional Gold Medal like his former colleagues.
“It stung me pretty badly when I was told I do not qualify for the medal they awarded the officers for their work on and everything they went through on January 6,” he said.
Last March, Tucker Carlson interviewed Johnson for his former Fox News show. He told Carlson that he was forced to take the initiative and evacuate the Senate because Pittman wouldn’t answer his calls.
“I was requesting permission to evacuate the senate side, the senate chambers, because I had a clear line of sight to get them out the senate door, and I didn’t get permission,” he explained. “The dispatcher called a couple times to see if I could get permission. No response.”
Johnson continued: “The person that I thought was going to authorize the evacuation didn’t do it. I wanted to get those members of congress out as quickly as I could. That’s why I initiated those evacuations.”
He told Carlson that it was shameful that Pittman had been praised by Nancy Pelosi and now had an administrative policing position at the University of California in Berkeley.
BREAKING: In an interview with Tucker Carlson, former Capitol Police Lieutenant who was suspended for wearing MAGA hat says then assistant Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman who was later promoted by Nancy Pelosi kept vital info from Police on January 6th pic.twitter.com/LE6t41qEAa
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 8, 2023
A former high-ranking USCP official with knowledge of the USCP’s response to the Jan. 6 riot corroborated Johnson’s account in a whistleblower letter sent to congressional leaders in October of 2021.
The whistleblower, who requested anonymity for privacy reasons and left the force months after the attack, accused Pittman and another senior leader of mishandling intelligence and failing to respond properly during the riot. The former USPC official sent the scathing 16-page letter to the top members of both parties in the House and Senate.
