How security failures enabled Trump mob to storm US Capitol

A lapse came despite glaring warning signs of potential violence by hardline supporters of president Donald Trump

The siege of the Capitol, home to both the US Senate and the House of Representatives, represents one of the gravest security lapses in recent US history. Photo: AP/Jose Luis Magana

The bloody chaos inside the US Capitol on Wednesday came after the police force that protects the legislative complex was overrun by a mob of Trump supporters in what law enforcement officials called a catastrophic failure to prepare.

The siege of the Capitol, home to both the US Senate and the House of Representatives, represents one of the gravest security lapses in recent US history, current and former law enforcement officials said.