GOP House Speaker Johnson publicly releases hours of Jan. 6 footage
- House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to release Jan.6 tapes
- He put the first 90 hours on a government website Friday
- Johnson plans to make 40,000 total hours public
FILE – Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
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(NewsNation) — Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday said he would be making tens of thousands of hours of security footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot available on the Committee on House Administration’s website.
On Jan. 6, hundreds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. As they came into the building, rioters attacked police officers, breaking in through doors and windows. NewsNation’s partner The Hill writes they used bear spray, bike racks, flag poles and other items to bust through barricades put around the Capitol.
Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer died the day after.
Videos from the riot had previously only been able to be seen by a limited number of people.
“This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the first 90 hours of footage would be released Friday, and more than 40,000 hours are expected to be posted in the next several months. A public viewing room, Johnson said in a statement, is being set up in the Capitol as well.
To avoid people from being “retaliated” against because of the video, Johnson said the faces of private citizens will be blurred on tapes not released yet. He said he also plans on segregating “an estimated 5% of the videos that may involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture.”
One video posted Friday shows U.S. Capitol Officers and military personnel roaming the halls of the building. Some officers appear to be restraining some people, and in some cases, can be seen tying their hands behind the person’s back. Another video shows a group of first responders giving someone medical attention.
Releasing the footage had been a promise Johnson had made to some of the more conservative members of his party such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida. It was Gaetz who orchestrated now-Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster as Speaker of the House in October.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
