How 1/6 Became the New 9/11

The January 6 leviathan

Today is not a day to celebrate democracy. January 6, 2025 represents a leviathan, a juggernaut of government extremism casting a shadow over American civic life. An event meant to ratify the will of the American public will be flooded by an army of federal agents, police, and military personnel from all over the country.

The congressional certification of the election today marks the first ever to receive the U.S. government’s highest-level security designation, basically a declaration of open season for the national security state. In another record, this month will be the first in American history to see three such designations (along with the funeral for Jimmy Carter and the presidential inauguration), which are normally rare. “No, that has never happened before,” the head of Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, Matt McCool, said during a press conference this weekend when asked if there was any precedent for so many.

If Washington does anything well, it is overcompensating for past embarrassing failures. Like 9/11, January 6 represented an intelligence failure for which none of the responsible agencies were punished. In fact, the opposite happened, with more resources lavished on the same agencies that had dropped the ball. For the national security state, every failure turns into an opportunity to “learn,” which really means punishing the public through demands for greater surveillance, policing and of course bigger budgets. 

More enforcers will deploy around the Capitol and Washington, DC than congresspeople and dignitaries and observers combined. The security system — local and state police, federal agents, spies, commandos, military, reserves, and national guard — doesn’t see any threat and doesn’t even expect any.

The greatest parallel between January 6 and 9/11 is the threat to Americans’ civil liberties posed not by terrorists or rioters, but by the government’s overzealous response to them. This year’s election certification has been designated a “National Special Security Event,” as we first reported in September. Under this designation, “resources essentially become unlimited from a security standpoint, all the way down to including participation of the national guard,” former senior Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino said this weekend. 

The NSSE designation authorizes the government to deploy the military on U.S. soil and beef up domestic surveillance in ways that otherwise would not be allowed. The Department of Homeland Security is the “lead” federal agency, coordinating the gaggle. The FBI is the “lead” federal law enforcement entity when it comes to terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. The Pentagon “leads” the military response, including that of the National Guard. The intelligence agencies — through the National Counter Terrorism Center — “leads” the minute-by-minute monitoring of “the situation.” The elected Mayor of Washington is made to step aside; the DC police are working with the Capitol Police; and, in theory, they are all working for the Secret Service (except where, in secret chambers, they’re not — I’ll have more on this closer to the inauguration).

There’s no evidence that the congressional certification of the election, which Trump of course won this time, faces any threat — a fact acknowledged by top officials implementing the NSSE themselves. “There is no credible intelligence that we expect a mass demonstration like we had four years ago,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said in a press conference Saturday. District of Columbia Police Pamela Smith also said “there are no credible known threats here in the District of Columbia” during the same press conference.

The sentiment is shared even by the Washington media. “No one really expects a replay tomorrow of the chaos that unfolded on Jan. 6 2021,” Politico wrote in its flagship Playbook newsletter on Sunday. 

So why this leviathan? In a word: politics. The federal government was caught so embarrassingly flatfooted on January 6, 2021, that the NSSE is basically a U.S.-taxpayer funded sacrifice offered to the national security state. 

But it’s not just the cost that’s concerning. Security theater always carries with it the risk of overreach. Last Thursday, when a 26-year-old telecommunications employee (his LinkedIn says he has a Master’s in Library Science) working in the area, dozens of law enforcement officers descended upon him. Despite authorities acknowledging that the man posed no threat and had simply mistakenly parked in the wrong area, the Capitol Police issued a press release touting their vigilance in arresting the man.

A small army of federal agents arresting a librarian for parking in the wrong spot? That’s the kind of leviathan that January 6 has created. 

Looking back on President Biden’s time in office, I’m reminded of his warning to Israel following the October 7 attack, in which he urged them not to be consumed by revenge.

“After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes,” Biden said. “But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it.” 

If only Biden had taken his own advice. The 1/6 leviathan has everything it needs: authorities, resources, powers. Until of course next time, when they’ll need more.

— Edited by William M. Arkin