The Capitol Police may have come up way short in preventing the riots, but it seems they're trying to make up for it ... by attempting to nab suspected rioters before they get out of town.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Capitol Police headed up an operation Friday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., staking the place out in search of would-be travelers believed to have been involved in Wednesday's insurrection.
These photos show cops detaining one man who we're told was surrounded by cops, taken into a room and questioned.
We're told airport police and the Dept. of Homeland Security provided an assist. We don't know how many people were detained or arrested.
The FBI is on the hunt for everyone who participated in the Capitol riots, and several suspects have already been identified and arrested.
Some of the most notable so far include Richard Barnett -- the man cops say is the guy who entered Nancy Pelosi's office and put his foot on her desk -- and Lonnie Coffman ... an Alabama man cops say had 11 Molotov cocktails in his truck near the Capitol Building.