New video seems to contradict the Department of Justice’s claim that the crowd of January 6 protesters was initially provoked by a tweet from 45th President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump tweeted his disapproval over Vice President Mike Pence’s decision not to remedy concerns over the 2020 election results during that day’s joint session of Congress, the legislative procedure that would officially certify Joe Biden as the winner.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth,” Trump tweeted at 2:24 p.m. on January 6, 2021.
That tweet, according to the Department of Justice, the partisan January 6 committee, and its media allies, was the catalyst that made the crowd push through police lines at the Capitol building near the inaugural stage.
At 2:26 p.m., two minutes after Trump’s tweet, Pence was evacuated to a secure location within the Capitol building, and protesters pushed forward.
However, newly released Justice Department bodycam video shows law enforcement officers shooting tear gas toward the front lines of the crowd at this exact time. In the mayhem, the officers retreat from the crowd of now-agitated protesters.
“Hey Rich, put it over the f**king scaffolding,” one police officer is heard saying before the munitions were launched into the crowd.
Some have accused U.S. Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police of escalating tensions by launching tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets into the then-peaceful crowd that day.
The news comes as additional surveillance video from the U.S. Capitol on January 6 continues to seemingly poke holes in the “insurrection” narrative set forth by the partisan January 6 Committee, and with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promising to fully release all 44,000 hours of footage to the public.
“CNN actually got to be in the Statuary Hall for a whole hour for their own show. You’ve watched that, January 6 would release only certain tapes,” said McCarthy. “I think it’s better for transparency that anyone can make their own decision up.”
Among other revelations included the discovery that Capitol Police escorted peaceful protesters throughout the building and in one case, even into the Senate chamber.
