Vice President Kamala Harris was within feet of a “viable” pipe bomb that had been planted outside the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, a new report claims.
The pipe bomb was planted in a bush right outside the office, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog, obtained by ABC News.
“The pipe bomb had been placed near the building the night before, but … [a]dvance security sweeps by the Secret Service at the DNC building did not include the outside area where a pipe bomb had been placed,” the report claims.
“[Harris], traveling in an armored vehicle with her motorcade, entered the DNC building via a ramp within 20 feet of the pipe bomb,” the report said.
The pipe bomb was found an hour and 40 minutes after Harris entered the building. It then took Secret Service 10 minutes to evacuate her, with her spending one hour and 50 minutes inside the building in total, according to the report.
The report also describes how two Secret Service canine teams assigned to sweep the building were “surprised” additional assets weren’t being provided to help. The report also noted that Secret Service policies at the time required fewer assets for those who had been elected to an office but not yet sworn in.