HARBINGERS

A crucial, clear-eyed assessment of what connects the 2 most influential moments of political violence in recent American history, and where we go from here An unparalleled firsthand account from the foremost expert on American political violence, crucial for readers of Liz Cheney's Oath and Honor, and How Democracies Die

This dramatic, revealing book offers an insider account of the planning and aftermath of the racist riot in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017, and the insurrection at the US. Capitol on January 6, 2021. As the lead investigator into both tragic days, Tim Heaphy has an absolutely unique perspective. Readers will travel alongside Heaphy as he organized his team and structured the massive investigations they were about to take, as he interacts with politicians and members of law enforcement, interviews planners, perpetrators, and bystanders, gathers and sorts evidence, and compels and records testimony in order to create a record for today's voters as well as future generations. In his page-turning book, he shares what he saw and came to understand about what those events say about state of American democracy. He examines how and why they took place with the hope that understanding the contexts of these events will be a crucial and helpful step toward avoiding similar episodes of political violence in the years ahead. This is an unparalleled firsthand account: Heaphy was "in the room" and tells a story no one else could tell, and with an immediacy that will make his account indelible and crucial for media coverage. It portrays the players: shares insider details far beyond any news account; who was evasive; helpful; credible, exasperating. Real people who, for better or worse, had a hand in shaping history. Heaphy is of course a singularly reliable narrator: An apolitical, evidence-based investigator, his measured take on who and what to blame and who and what can make things better is refreshing and reassuring in this hyper-partisan and hyperbolic age. Timothy J. Heaphy was Chief Investigative Counsel of the House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He also oversaw the independent investigation into the August 12, 2017 riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is currently partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP and previously served as the Obama-appointed US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his family.