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Department of Homeland Security police officers had asked protesters to keep vehicle paths clear earlier in the morning, but their commands over a loudspeaker were often drowned out by protesters’ chants.

The inquiry also heard about a number of failings or near misses in the way security, police, paramedics and the media responded to the attack.

“They rolled up once or twice and threatened to close us down, arrest us — the usual bully tactics of security police anywhere in the world,” Fugard said.

He said it quickly dawned on him “because parades usually have barricades, security, police and some sort of organisation” and he could see no evidence of that, just “vast amounts of people”.

I was still in shock, from the overwhelming media attention on top of seeing Brian, a former Air National Guard Security Police officer and United States Capitol Police officer of 12 years, reduced to a small wooden box on top of an American Flag.