Dozens on FBI terrorist watch list came to Washington DC on day of riots

A new report has sparked fresh outrage after it was revealed dozens of rioters who participated in the carnage were already on an FBI terrorist watch list by the time the riots took place.

The new information comes after it was found that a January 5 FBI report had warned that pro-Trump insurrectionists were planning to wage a "war" at the US Capitol the next day. 

The revelation follows a Washington Post report earlier this week detailing the FBI’s failure to act aggressively on an internal intelligence report of internet discussions about plans to attack Congress, smash windows, break down doors and “get violent … go there ready for war.”

According to the FBI’s website, the watch list is a “single database that contains sensitive national security and law enforcement information concerning the identities of those who are known or reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorist activities” and is run by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Centre, which was established after the September 11 attacks.

Meanwhile, Trump has became the only president in US history to be impeached twice after the House of Representatives brought forth an article of impeachment against him on a charge of "incitement of insurrection." 

The riots last week have brought into sharp focus the potential dangers that lawmakers and, potentially, the next president, face from supporters of Trump, who has continued to falsely claim that he, not Biden, won the election.

Trump and his aides have been consistently making unsubstantiated claims of election frauds ever since it was clear that he was to leave office to make way for Joe Biden. Trump campaign has presented no evidence and has suffered defeats in courts across the US including in US Supreme Court.

(With agency inputs)