Did US Capitol Police Release a Statement on Jan. 6 Commission?

On May 19, 2021, as members of the U.S. House of Representatives debated the establishment of a commission that would look into the events that led up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a statement supposedly issued by U.S. Capitol Police in which they expressed “profound disappointment” in Republican members who had expressed opposition to this commission started circulating online:

The statement was initially shared with a message stating “The U.S. Capitol Police have issued a statement to members of Congress…,” however, this statement did not actually originate with, nor was it endorsed by, the U.S. Capitol Police. This statement was issued by an unspecified number of Capitol Police members, not the organization as a whole. 

A spokesperson for USCP told Snopes: “All we can say is it was NOT written by the Department.”

Politico reporter Olivia Beavers deleted her original message and posted a clarification. She then reposted this statement along with a new message clearly stating that it came from “MEMBERS” of USCP:

Shortly after this statement went viral, the U.S. Capitol Police posted a message on Twitter saying that “USCP does NOT take positions on legislation.”

Zachary Cohen, a National security reporter with CNN, reported that the news network had spoken with the officer who wrote the letter. The anonymous officer said that it represented the views of 40-50 officers:

In sum: A member of USCP penned a letter expressing the view of an unspecified number of U.S. Capitol Police Officers that they were “profoundly disappointed” in politicians voicing their opposition to a Jan. 6 commission. This statement did not come from USCP leadership. USCP said in a statement that they do not take positions on legislation.