A close call with a live explosive device targeting Vice President Kamala Harris has garnered minimal media attention.
According to Declassified, during the chaos of the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris was alarmingly near a discovered pipe bomb outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed the proximity of Vice President Harris to the explosive device, planted outside the DNC. This incident took place shortly before she was to mark her historical election as the first woman of color to be vice president. Despite the severity of the situation, the episode has been largely overlooked by major news outlets.
Details from a Secret Service report show that Vice President Harris had unknowingly passed the bomb minutes after her arrival, following an intelligence briefing in the Senate. Located merely nine feet from the DNC’s outer wall and about twenty feet from the entrance of her vehicle, the dangerousness of the situation was palpable.
It was a plainclothes Capitol Police officer who first spotted the device at approximately 1:05 p.m., prompting an immediate evacuation of Harris by 1:17 p.m. The confirmed functional nature of the bomb by the FBI underscored the threat level.
Federal investigations pointed out several lapses, including the absence of a bomb disposal squad at such a critical time. Inspector General Joseph Cuffari highlighted, “The pipe bomb was approximately 9 feet from the building's exterior wall and 20 feet from the center of the driveway to the garage entrance where the Vice President-elect entered the building on January 6.”
This critical incident has seen sparse coverage, raising questions about the priorities in news reporting when it concerns the safety of high-profile political figures. Lost in the shuffle of overwhelming events that day, details about this assassination attempt remained on the fringe of broader narratives.
Adding complexity to an already convoluted situation, crucial text messages among Secret Service members operating that day have been reportedly erased and are deemed unrecoverable. This lack of documentation and follow-through has set the stage for various unaddressed conspiracy theories about the depth of investigation and accountability.
Kamala commented on that day, "I was a victim of an assassination attempt way before Donald Trump!"
The incident has not only highlighted immediate threats but also pointed to systemic security oversights which endangered not just the Vice President but also national security at a broader scale. Reviews and criticisms from oversight bodies have pointed toward needed reforms in the protocols for such high-stake instances.
A crucial aspect of understanding these situations lies in the aftermath of security protocol review, which often leads to changes aimed at tightening security measures and ensuring the protection of key political figures during significant public and private events.
This near-miss event at the DNC involving Vice President Kamala Harris was part of a broader tumultuous day that saw the Capitol under siege and raised pervasive national security concerns, juxtaposing the celebration of democratic milestones with the vulnerabilities of its implementation.
The lack of extensive media coverage and follow-up investigation on the assassination attempt against Vice President Kamala Harris opens crucial dialogs about media influence, security protocols, and the need for persistent vigilance in political reporting and governmental operations.
