Jan. 6: Former Capitol police officers accuse chief of cover-up

Tarik Johnson, a former Capitol Police (USCP) officer, called out the head of the force in charge of protecting Congress during the Jan. 6 assault. "Message to J. Thomas Manger," Johnson began a post Thursday accusing Manger of covering up what happened on Jan. 6 and trying to prevent Donald Trump from being re-elected in 2024.

The former officer maintained that Manger had managed to avoid public scrutiny for his role in the raid on the Capitol, but that "the tide will turn." He launched a campaign on X (formerly Twitter) to make Manger's name and story known. The question, "Who is J. Thomas Manger?" was trending on Thursday. Johnson's goal is to keep Manger's name in the limelight every day until Aug. 30, when interviews for a new USCP deputy chief of police will begin.

It is not the first time that Johnson has expressed doubts about what happened on Jan. 6. "I guess the focus was on Donald Trump," he opined in an interview with Fox News, after expressing his surprise that he was not summoned to appear before the January 6 Committee.

On that occasion, as in his recent post, he also took aim at Yogananda Pittman, then assistant chief of the Capitol Police.