January 6 is one of the most well-documented events in history.
Aside from security cameras, there was also footage from people’s cell phones and from the media.
There’s just one problem:
This footage has been hidden from the public.
The government has been holding onto approximately 14,000 hours worth of footage.
Why?
Because according to the Biden administration, the footage poses a “national security risk.”
Well, a US District Chief Judge disagrees.
The judge ruled that more video footage MUST be made public.
https://twitter.com/TomasMorales_iv/status/1436408870264446976
Judicial Watch announced that DC asked a court for an additional delay to respond to Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit for records related to the U.S. Capitol Police shooting death of Ashli Babbitt on January 6. 2001. READ: https://t.co/rVwKoxPuY9
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) September 22, 2021
Nancy Pelosi HIDING January 6 Videos in Federal Court Battle | Judicial Watch https://t.co/O8Ksfvlm4N
— Gil (@Gil00006) September 21, 2021
To be clear, this ruling does not mean that ALL January 6 footage will be released.
Rather, this lawsuit was over a specific set of videos.
However, according to experts, this sets legal precedent.
This single ruling will make it harder to continue hiding the unreleased videos as more lawsuits to release them come in.
BuzzFeed News was the first to break this massive story:
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday released a new collection of Capitol surveillance videos from Jan. 6 after a judge ordered them to do so, rejecting the government’s argument that making the clips public could threaten the security of the complex.
The disclosure marks a setback for the US Capitol Police and the US attorney’s office in their efforts to control how much footage from the Capitol’s closed-circuit video (CCV) system gets out. In the latest case, prosecutors argued that revealing the location and vantage points of more cameras could help “bad actors” trying to plan some future assault on the building. A judge concluded that argument was too speculative, however, and that the public had a strong interest in seeing videos that formed the basis for a recent plea deal.
US District Chief Judge Beryl Howell ordered the videos released in response to a request from a media coalition (including BuzzFeed News) that is petitioning judges on a rolling basis for videos that prosecutors have relied on in Jan. 6 cases. Howell’s decision isn’t binding on other judges in the US District Court for the District of Columbia presiding over Capitol riot prosecutions, but it gives the media coalition a favorable ruling to point to in future fights.
The clips cover a period of about 15 minutes on Jan. 6 — between 2:25 p.m. and 2:40 p.m. — in different locations inside the Capitol. They show rioters streaming through open doors and broken windows at an entrance on the Senate side; crowds of people walking into the Crypt, standing in a large crowd, and eventually dispersing; and, finally, rioters exiting as US Capitol Police officers in riot gear gather at the Senate entrance point to stand guard as a mob that’s outside looks in through the broken windows. There is no audio. The cameras are stationed up high and at a distance, providing a wide, stable perspective on the scene.
There has been a wealth of video evidence in connection with the insurrection, including videos recorded by rioters that were posted online and footage recorded by police body cameras. According to the US Capitol Police, the CCV system captured more than 14,000 hours of footage between noon and 8 p.m. on Jan. 6, creating the most complete video archive of events inside the building that day. USCP has strictly controlled who can access the footage and how much of it can be released to the public; some of it was shared during former president Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in February.
The government cited the latest videos in the case of Eric Torrens, a Tennessee man who took a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to one misdemeanor count of illegally parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol. He admitted entering the building through a broken door and walking around. The government noted in court papers that Capitol surveillance cameras recorded his entry into the building as well as his movements inside. Prosecutors cited four other videos they obtained related to Torrens, including one that showed him exclaiming, “We goin’ in!” Those were also released on Tuesday.
Before Torrens’ plea hearing, Howell asked to see videos that the government relied on in describing Torrens’ conduct. She also asked the parties to weigh in on whether those videos should be released to the public. At the plea hearing, Howell noted that there was a presumption in favor of access to judicial proceedings and that the public had an interest in materials that were submitted in court, that judges relied on in making decisions, and that shed light on how prosecutors exercised discretion in criminal cases.
The government opposed making the videos public. In response to a petition filed by the media coalition, prosecutors wrote that the videos featured nonpublic information about entrances and exits around the Capitol, and that releasing them would “compromise the security of the United States Capitol and those who work there.”
Several minutes will be released.
But here’s one of the most astonishing videos.
This is the moment that Trump supporters began entering the building.
There was virtually NO security resistance.
You can watch it on Rumble:
Below is a one minute preview of the rest of the new footage:
DOJ released a new set of Capitol surveillance videos from Jan. 6 after a judge ordered them to do so, rejecting the government’s argument that making the clips public presented a security risk. On that fight, and what the videos show: https://t.co/IwJekF6hSX pic.twitter.com/aoIuDvuW8u
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) September 22, 2021
No other major news outlet has picked up on this story.
Why?
Because they want to protect THEIR narrative of what happened on January 6.
Fortunately, the National File is also confirming this ruling:
Capitol surveillance footage from the January 6 election integrity protests has been publicly released after a judge ruled against the attempts of Biden regime prosecutors to hide the footage from public view.
US District Chief Judge Beryl Howell has ruled that “the government shall promptly make the video evidence submitted to the Court on August 16, 2021, in connection with defendant’s plea hearing held August 19, 2021, publicly available without restrictions by providing access using the “drop box” technical solution described in D.D.C. Standing Order No. 21-28.”“The government’s reasons for preventing disclosure of the video exhibits, and thereby sealing them, are insufficient to overcome the public right of access to the five CCV videos at issue,” Howell wrote, noting that “The public has an interest in understanding the conduct underlying the charges in these cases, as well as the government’s prosecutorial decision-making both in bringing criminal charges and resolving these charges by entering into plea agreements with defendants.”
“Moreover, the government has already released video from inside the Capitol in other cases and even more videos taken by individuals inside the Capitol on January 6 have been made publicly available,” the judge continued. “See Pet’rs’ Reply at 8, 10–11 & n.4. The government does not explain how the information it seeks to protect could not already be obtained by, for example, reviewing already-public videos taken inside the Capitol, and the government does not articulate a particular threat stemming from the release of these particular videos. As petitioners persuasively argue, the asserted security risk is undercut by the already extensive release of CCV footage from the Capitol.”
Multiple surveillance videos have already been released per the judge’s ruling, crushing the hopes of prosecutors to hide the footage from the public.
Because of this single ruling, it is inevitable that the remaining January 6th footage will be released.
It’s only a matter of time.
What do you think is hidden in those videos?
How do you think it will affect our impression of what actually happened on that day?
Let us know your predictions in the comments section below!
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