The GOP-led House has initiated the release of over 40,000 hours of video footage from the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach to the public. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced the disclosure, specifying that the footage would be shared on a House Administration Committee webpage. Johnson clarified that a small portion of the video containing sensitive security information or posing a risk of retaliation against private citizens would be excluded.
Johnson emphasized the release as a move toward transparency, citing the need to restore trust in the government. Proponents argue that the disclosure of security footage from the Capitol breach offers an alternative perspective to the mainstream narrative that predominantly focused on the violence during the incident.
Some footage released on Friday depicted individuals walking down a hallway in an orderly fashion, even waving to law enforcement officers. The move garnered appreciation from some Republicans, including Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), who stated that it is time for the public to have information on the events of January 6th.
The previous release of approximately 41,000 hours of video by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to Fox News host Tucker Carlson drew criticism. The footage aired on Carlson’s show displayed police officers seemingly standing passively as people entered the Capitol, contrasting with scenes presented by the January 6 Committee during its hearings.
Despite concerns raised about the earlier disclosure, various media members and January 6 defendants had gained restricted access to the footage in the fall through terminals overseen by the House Administration Committee.
Speaker Johnson assured the establishment of a public viewing room to allow citizens to view the videos uncensored during the online rollout. He thanked Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight for the Committee on House Administration, for the prompt upload of videos. Johnson specified that video processing would involve blurring faces of private citizens in yet-to-be-released tapes to prevent retaliation and segregating about 5% of the footage containing sensitive security information related to building architecture.
Follow the link below to view the January 6th tapes for yourself.
To restore America’s trust and faith in their Government we must have transparency. This is another step towards keeping the promises I made when I was elected to be your Speaker.
This website will be updated…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) November 17, 2023
BREAKING: In this never-before-seen footage of the January 6th insurrection, you can see capitol police officers fighting for their lives as the violent insurrectionists endanger American democracy in real-time pic.twitter.com/DDqPWafrHI
— George (@BehizyTweets) November 17, 2023
