The Senate Sergeant at Arms who was charged with securing the Capitol building on January 6 has died under circumstances that are still a mystery.
“Fox confirms that Michael Stenger, the Senate Sergeant at Arms who was in charge of Senate security the day of the Capitol riot, has died,” Fox News’ Chad Pergram reported.
The report has been confirmed also by Politico Congressional reporter K. Tully-McManus:
“Former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger died this morning,” Tully-McManus said. “He joined the SAA team in 2011 after a career with the Secret Service and was appointed SAA in 2018.”
Stenger was forced out of his position after the Capitol siege on January 6. The Capitol building being overrun by far-right extremists, as well as peaceful Trump supporters who were let into the building by the Capitol Police.
House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving subsequently gave his resignation notice, as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced. Capitol Police chief Steven Sund also resigned, effective Jan. 16, and left a letter filled with heavy criticism of the weak Capitol security, which followed upon numerous warnings given to the Congress.
Stenger had testified in front of Congress on the security failures on January 6:
“In conclusion, whenever you prepare for a major event, you must always consider the possibility of some form of civil disobedience at these demonstrations and plan accordingly,” Stenger said in his statement. “The events of January 6th went beyond disobedience. This was a violent, coordinated attack where the loss of life could have been much worse.”
In February, Pergram reported on alleged “inconsistences” in the testimony of Stenger, as well as Capitol Police chief Steven Sund, and former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, according to a top Republican.
“Top GOPer on Hse Admin Cmte Davis on Senate’s Capitol riot hrng: There were major inconsistencies in the testimony provided by former USCP Chief Sund, former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, and former Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger,” Pergram reported.
In a review of January 6 security failures, a staff report for the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee blamed Sund, Irving, and Stenger for failing to notify the National Guard in time.
“Steven Sund never submitted a formal request to the Capitol Police Board for National Guard support in advance of January 6,” the report said. “Instead, Steven Sund had informal conversations with the House Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms, Michael Stenger, regarding the potential need for National Guard support. No one ever discussed the possibility of National Guard support with the Architect of the Capitol, the third voting member of the Capitol Police Board.”
A new House January 6 Committee hearing was suddenly scheduled for tomorrow at 1 PM with “recently obtained evidence.”
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Current Founder, CEO and Chief Editor of Becker News. Former Writer & Associate Producer at Fox News for #1 top-rated prime-time cable news show. Former Director of Viral Media and Senior Managing Editor for award-winning startup website IJReview, which grew to a readership of 20-30 million Americans a month. Led editorial and social media team that was #1 ranked news & politics publisher on Facebook for story engagement. Writer whose thousands of digital articles have been read by over 100 million unique users.