Former Senate Sergeant of Arms Michael Stenger has tragically died on the day before he was due to testify before a Jan. 6 House Select Committee hearing.
Stenger was in charge of Capitol Hill security during the riot on January 6, 2021.
He was just to testify Tuesday regarding the Capitol building’s security failings during the Jan 6 riot.
The circumstances surrounding Stenger’s sudden death are not immediately clear.
Fox News’s Chad Pergram confirmed that Stenger died on Monday.
“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,” Pergram reported.
1) 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.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 27, 2022
Politico Congressional reporter K. Tully-McManus has also confirmed the report.
“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.”
Michael Stenger was forced out of his file after the January 6 Capitol protests.
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.
Sund penned a letter in which he heavily criticized the lack of security and precautions at the Capitol upon his resignation.
In the months prior to his death, Stenger testified before Congress regarding the January 6 protests.
“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 testimony.
“The events of January 6th went beyond disobedience.
“This was a violent, coordinated attack where the loss of life could have been much worse.”
The former Sergeant at Arms was set to testify again, this time in front of the public Jan. 6 Congressional committee hearings.
A hearing that will feature “recently obtained evidence” was abruptly scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m.
In February, Pergram reported on “inconsistencies” in the testimonies from Capitol security chiefs.
This includes testimony from both Sund and Stenger.
“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 tweeted in February 2021.
A) 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.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 24, 2021
In addition, a staff report for the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee blamed Sund, Irving, and Stenger for failing to notify the National Guard on January 6.
“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.”
Michael Stenger is not the first member of the Capitol security team who died in the months following January 6, 2021.
Four Capitol police officers who were on duty that day have committed suicide since the event.
