Hobbyist Website About Tunnels Under US Capitol Saw Surge In Traffic In Days Before Riot, FBI Was Notified

Washington DC’s NBC News affiliate reports:

The founder and administrator of an obscure website about underground infrastructure in Washington, D.C., saw a sudden and suspicious spike in traffic in the days before the U.S. Capitol insurrection. The sharp increase in web visitors alarmed the site’s operator so much that he contacted the FBI. Elliot Carter, who operates the site, worried people were covertly seeking escape routes or entry points to the Capitol ahead of the electoral college count in January.

That concern about web traffic to WashingtonTunnels.com eventually made its way to leadership of U.S. Capitol Police, the News4 I-Team has learned. “These people were suddenly obsessed with the Capitol building,” Carter said. A deeper review of analytics from his site revealed many of the clicks were coming from hyperlinks shared on anonymous message boards, sites and forums named after militias or firearms, or using Donald Trump’s name.

Read the full article.

Sudden, suspicious spike in web traffic to a former Hill intern’s DC underground tunnel history website… days before the US Capitol Insurrection

Via our @NBC4ITeam investigation:
https://t.co/C50NjLrclX

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 17, 2021