Sweeping new footage of the crowds that descended upon the U.S.
Capitol on Jan 6., 2021 played during the first select committee hearing Thursday depicted an aggressive mob of rioters that included people willing to die.
“I’ll lay my life down if it takes,” said one man. Other aerial footage shows crowds running over the capitol grounds, some brandishing weapons.
“As we provide answers to American people about Jan. 6, it’s important that we remember exactly what took place,” said select committee Chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) “That this was no tourist visit to the capitol. Most of the footage we are about to play has never been seen. The select committee obtained it as a part of our investigation. This isn’t easy to watch.”
Footage of the riot begins at the 1:02:38 mark in this video:
It begins with footage from 10 a.m. Jan 6., which shows people identified as members of the Proud Boys, a “Western chauvinist” organization designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As the group marches through Washington D.C, they are shouting.
Members of the Proud Boys, including 38-year-old Joseph Biggs and 44-year-old Dominic Pezzola, have been indicted for their actions at the Capitol.
Voiceover from the footage indicates there were around 300 marchers in the Washington D.C. area on the morning of Jan. 6.
“I am not allowed to say what’s going to happen today, because everyone’s just going to have to watch for themselves,” said a woman standing near the Washington monument.
At 11:22 a.m., the Proud Boys appear to be chanting “whose streets? our streets?” as they continue marching. A man in what looks like military gear appears to say “we’re on your side, don’t make us go against you,” to a police officer and adds, “these are our streets.”
Around 20 minutes later, Proud Boys in orange hats can be seen stopping for a photo near the Capitol.
Nearby at the “Stop the Steal” rally, former President Donald Trump said “I hope Mike [Pence] is gonna do the right thing, I hope so,” at around 12:05 p.m. “Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All that Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states, to recertify and we become president and we are happiest people.”
Later he said he would be “very disappointed” if Pence didn’t send the election results back to the states. Trump lost the 2020 election to current President Joe Biden and has since claimed that voter fraud cost him the election. However, the former president has not been able to provide evidence of this claim.
Crowds at the riot can be heard chanting “U.S.A” at times and at others “we love Trump,” including Biggs. By 12:54 p.m., the first group breaches the Capitol grounds at Peace Circle. Screaming and more chanting can be heard.
An apparent law enforcement official tells a lady to “get back,” and soon after people with Trump flags push past, up a set of steps.
Aerial footage shows them running over the grass and walkways at West Plaza at 12:55 p.m. Around 30 minutes later, voiceover says the event is a “riot” as Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia scuffle with the rioters and people push past barricades.
Around 2 p.m. people can be seen entering the East Plaza. People bound up the steps, a woman can be heard yelling and a traffic cone is shown flying. Rioters had made it to the Capitol crypt by 2:25 p.m.
Footage shows Pezzola breaking a window on the Upper West Terrace and people streaming in through the windows. Around the same time, Biggs enters the building from the East.
“There in the rotunda, these brave men and women rested beneath paintings depicting the earliest scenes of our Republic, including one painted in 1824 depicting George Washington resigning his commission, voluntarily relinquishing power, handing control of the Continental Army back to Congress” said committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in a statement. “With this noble act, Washington set the indispensable example of the peaceful transfer of power. What President Reagan called, ‘nothing less than a miracle.’ The sacred obligation to defend this peaceful transfer of power has been honored by every American president. Except one.
When Trump tweeted that “Pence didn’t have the courage” to protect country, a man read the tweet on loudspeaker outside the capitol, as a confederate flag flew in the background. Near the end of the footage, crowds began shouting “hang Mike Pence” near a noose display.
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