Kamala Harris drove within meters of a bomb during the assault on the Capitol

(Trends Wide) — Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris walked within feet of a homemade bomb, which was located next to a bench outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters on January 6, 2021, and remained inside the DNC for nearly two hours before the device was discovered, according to multiple security officials familiar with the situation.

Details about Harris’s closeness to the bomb and the length of time he spent inside the DNC had not previously been released. The revelations further expose a security breach on January 6, when law enforcement was trying to respond to several major events, protect prominent politicians and repel tens of thousands of protesters who flooded Washington and attacked the US Capitol.

Multiple sources now tell Trends Wide that Harris arrived at the DNC headquarters in Washington around 11:30 a.m. local time with his entourage through the garage leading to the parking deck, near where security forces discovered the tube pump.

Harris’s whereabouts and movements, as of January 6, 2021, have been surrounded by uncertainty. His presence at the DNC was not known until earlier this month, when details about his evacuation from headquarters were made public minutes after a homemade bomb was discovered nearby.

According to an internal US Capitol Police timeline, an unidentified “protégé” was removed from the DNC building at approximately 1:14 pm, seven minutes after Capitol Police began investigating the bombing. Trends Wide reported in early January that the person was Vice President Harris. The Capitol Police timeline did not specify when Harris arrived at the building. Politico first reported on the Harris evacuation.

A law enforcement source familiar with the event told Trends Wide that the US Secret Service, responsible for Harris’s protection that day, searched the interior of the building, the driveway, the parking lot, and the entrances and departures before your arrival. The source said Harris was evacuated using an alternate route away from the bomb.

Although Harris and then-president-elect Joe Biden had not yet been sworn in, they received Secret Service protection after the election. The fact that Harris was so close to potential danger during that period raises additional questions about the security measures put in place to protect her.

“To maintain operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss means and methods of protection,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Trends Wide in a statement.

The White House declined to comment. The vice president’s office referred Trends Wide to the Secret Service.

Harris’s aides refused to reveal his movements during the Jan. 6 assault, citing security concerns. As violence ripped through the Capitol, one aide told Trends Wide only that he was “safe.”

Harris first addressed the details of her day during a statement earlier this month, a year after the unrest, saying she was inside the Capitol that morning for a classified Senate Intelligence Committee briefing. before leaving.

“That day, I was not only the vice president-elect, but also a United States senator. And I was here on Capitol Hill that morning, in a classified hearing with colleagues from the Senate Intelligence Committee. Hours later, the gates of the Capitol were closed. assaulted,” Harris said.

“I had already left. But my thoughts immediately turned not only to my colleagues, but to my staff, who had been forced to seek refuge in our office, turning filing cabinets into barricades.”

On January 6, agents from various security forces went to the DNC and Republican National Committee buildings. The buildings are less than a quarter mile apart and a few blocks south of the Capitol. Additionally, the bombs were discovered around 12:45 p.m. and 1:07 p.m., respectively, around the same time angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.

Both devices were equipped with timers and contained an explosive powder. Although none of them detonated, the Federal Bureau of Investigation made it clear that the bombs were usable.

The bombs were safely neutralized at the scene by robots. The bomb threat at the DNC was resolved at 4:36 pm on January 6, according to the timeline obtained by Trends Wide.

No one has been charged with planting the bombs, and the FBI is still searching for a suspect it identified in multiple videos released in the past year.