Julie Farnam is the author of the new book Domestic Darkness: An Insider's Account of the January 6 Insurrection, and the Future of Right-Wing Extremism. She was the acting director of intelligence for the U.S. Capitol Police, and she lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Q: Why did you decide to write Domestic Darkness, and how was the book’s title chosen?
A: I wrote Domestic Darkness because I saw a lot of people trying to shape the narrative of that day either for political gain or to minimize what truly happened on January 6.
There was also a lot said about me in the aftermath of January 6. People were speaking for me and I wanted the opportunity to speak for myself and tell my story.
Q: Did you need to do additional research to write the book, or was most of it written from memory?
A: The narrative parts of the book were written from memory, though I did look up emails and other documents to provide the evidence behind what I was saying.
For the parts about the groups present on January 6 and the historical elements of racism and conspiracies, I did research.
Q: What were you doing on January 6, 2021, and how did those experiences affect you?
A: On January 6, I was in the Capitol Police headquarters building. The building is on Capitol grounds, next to the Dirksen Senate Office Building and about two blocks away from the Capitol building.
It was a very busy day. In the morning we were dealing with protests at the residences of some members of Congress and then there were the two pipe bombs found outside the DNC and RNC, and of course there was an insurrection in the afternoon.
Throughout that I was listening to the police radio and watching videos in real time. As the insurrection began, I, along with my team, were capturing online videos and images of some of the illegal activity we were seeing. This became very valuable in the days after January 6, and that information was turned over to the FBI.
As far as how the experience affected me, that day really changed the whole trajectory of my life. I hadn't wanted to leave my job at the Department of Homeland Security (I left because I was going to be furloughed during the pandemic), and then I ended up becoming part of a horrible day in our country's history.
The experience of working for the Capitol Police and being there on January 6 forced me to receive attention I had never wanted. I was content just doing my job quietly behind the scenes. But here we are today talking about a book I wrote about the experience.
Q: The writer Trevor Aaronson called the book a “stunning insider account of how the Capitol Police failed to heed warnings about the insurrection and how federal agencies remain ill-prepared to defend against far-right political violence.” What do you think of that description, and what do you see as the legacy of January 6?
A: I hope the legacy of January 6 is that we realize how fragile democracy is and how important it is to protect it. But I don't think we've fully realized its impact just yet. I don't know if federal agencies are prepared to address the enemy from within, even after January 6.
As for the Capitol Police specifically, I don't think the cultural elements that contributed to the failures of that day--poor communication, a lack of trust in leadership, and not valuing employees--have been adequately addressed.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Today I am running for a seat on the Arlington, Virginia County Board. I also own my own business, Pandorus Intelligence, LLC, which assists attorneys, private investigators, and others with their open-source intelligence needs.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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