Former Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6 says leadership ignored him

When former U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Tarik "T.K." Johnson looked outside on January 6, 2021, he was in shock. Hundreds of people were coming towards the Capitol building. On the U.S. Capitol West Front he saw a mob attack his fellow police officers.

"I saw fighting like I'd never seen before in my entire life," Johnson says. "They were punching and they were swinging, they were throwing water bottles, they were throwing smoke bombs, gas bombs."

Johnson thought he was going to lose his life that day. A lot was assumed about Johnson based on a video of him wearing a red MAGA hat and talking to two Oath Keepers in the crowd. He was accused of sympathizing with the attackers. He got death threats.

Now, in his first broadcast interview since the Jan. 6 attack, Johnson tells Morning Edition's Leila Fadel why he donned that hat and how he feels police leadership failed him and his fellow officers that day.

We reached out to former Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman for comment, but have not heard back.

The U.S. Capitol Police provided a written statement in response to Johnson's accusation that Pittman ignored his request for guidance.

"Yogananda Pittman was one of two Assistant Chiefs who reported to then Chief Steven Sund. She was the Assistant Chief of Police for Protective and Intelligence Operations on January 6, in which her primary mission was overseeing the teams who successfully evacuated Congressional Leadership away