Gaps in public knowledge of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol are filling in piece by piece as security footage continues to be released publicly.
More than 20,000 hours of video have been released since November on the orders of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
One highlight of the new material was the police response to the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbit.
Babbit, a former Air Force military police officer, was shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd as she tried to climb through a broken window in the Speaker’s Lobby.
The latest footage showed the efforts of Capitol Police officers and an FBI medic to save her life.
The shooting spurred a swarming police presence at the Capitol. Inaccurate reports prompted fearful officers to move through the halls with their weapons drawn, unsure if they were walking into gunfire.
Meanwhile, several fights broke out between witnesses to the shooting and police. In some cases, officers used force to clear the hallways.
One jarring video shows police heaving protester Daniel Dean Egtvedt out the South Door, slamming him head-first into the outer doors and causing him to collapse. The incident came after Egtvedt verbally abused and scuffled with officers.
Additional footage showed one officer’s struggle to breathe amid the use of crowd-control chemicals to try to disperse the crowd. His difficulties prompted another officer to fetch medical assistance.
Another incident captured by the cameras was the moment protester Derrick Vargo, 34, was pushed off a ledge by a Capitol Police officer. He blacked out when hit the ground, at which point bystanders and other police officers carried him to a nearby rescue squad.
Vargo filed a federal lawsuit in January claiming that Officer Bryant Williams “intentionally attempted to murder” him with the shove. Williams has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
The latest footage marks the halfway point for the total film slated for publication, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) said.
“Not only are we releasing all video footage, but we will continue to release all findings, videos, and documents until everything is available for the public to see the full picture of the events surrounding that day,” Loudermilk said.
—Joseph M. Hanneman and Samantha Flom
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 17, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
OUTSTER LOSING MOMENTUM
The push to boot House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) out of the speaker’s chair seems to be losing momentum among Republicans in the House.
Following Johnson’s move in March to pass $1.2 trillion of government funding with broad Democratic support, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a motion to vacate against Johnson, which she described as “a warning” or “a pink slip.”
Over a month since that motion was introduced, it seems to be losing momentum among Republicans.
In the weeks that followed, two Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)—announced their support for the motion.
Many other Republicans—including several members who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—say they don’t support removing Johnson under the same process.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said that the motion to vacate is “being exercised improperly.”
It should be “as serious as impeachment,” Meuser told The Epoch Times, and should only be used as a penalty for serious moral or criminal violations by the speaker.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a vociferous critic of the current motion to vacate rules, told reporters “I don’t think there’s the support within the conference to remove the speaker.”
The sentiment was shared even among many members of the House Freedom Caucus.
“I’m not itching to do anything like this,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who’s been a vocal critic of Johnson, told The Epoch Times. “What I think we need to do is just get back in the saddle and focus on doing our job.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who veers toward the right-flank of her conference, said she was an “emphatic no” on using a motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson “as of right now.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the effort to remove Mr. McCarthy, reiterated the sentiment, telling reporters “I oppose a motion to vacate at the current time.”
Asked why he opposed the motion after supporting a similar motion against Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, he told The Epoch Times, “I have at least three members of my caucus that might be susceptible to bribes.”
In the past, Gaetz has indicated that he didn’t want to pursue a motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson due to fears that it could end in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) being installed as the speaker.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who was also involved in the push to boot Mr. McCarthy, agreed.
“It’s very different than a year ago,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Some of it’s simple math,” Good explained, noting that Republicans now control six fewer seats than the 222 they came into the 118th Congress with.
Two other Republicans who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) have also indicated in the past that they believe the situation has changed, and that Johnson shouldn’t be ousted.
Notably, President Donald Trump has indicated on multiple occasions that he backs the speaker, though he’s declined to comment directly on Ms. Greene’s motion to vacate.
It’s a tacit endorsement that likely goes a long way in the very pro-Trump House Republican conference.
When pressed on the motion to vacate issue by reporters on April 29, Massie said “nothing’s changed” in his calls for Johnson to resign, but declined to discuss the matter further.
Greene’s office didn’t return a request for comment.
—Joseph Lord and Stacy Robinson
BIDEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE: ESCALATING CAMPUS PROTESTS
Pro-Palestinian protests are sweeping across U.S. college campuses, posing a fresh political challenge for President Joe Biden amid growing anti-Semitic incidents.
At Columbia University, the epicenter of recent protests, students have persisted in their anti-Israel encampment for the past two weeks. In the heart of this 270-year-old American school, Palestinian flags flutter while an unusual banner greets passersby: “Welcome to the People’s University for Palestine.”
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on April 29 said that talks with protesters had reached an impasse and encouraged demonstrators to depart or face suspension.
The school had earlier asked that the demonstrators leave campus by 2 p.m. on April 29. The deadline passed, but the demonstrators refused to budge.
In recent days, pro-Palestinian protests have spread like wildfire at colleges across the country in solidarity with the Columbia students. Police interventions in many schools have resulted in over 800 arrests so far.
“We will remain until Columbia concedes to our demands,” reads one whiteboard at the Columbia campus. Students demand, among other things, that the university cut ties with corporations they claim are profiting “from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.”
Naomi, a protester who preferred not to reveal her last name, expressed optimism that some, if not all, of the demands could be met by the school administrators.
“What’s more important is that we’re signaling to other institutions, such as other universities and the White House, that students and a lot of Americans don’t stand for the war in Gaza,” she said.
Many students protesting against the war in Gaza say they’re unhappy with Biden for failing to achieve a ceasefire. Meanwhile, there is also growing discontent among Jewish students who feel that the Biden administration could do more to address the issue of anti-Semitic attacks on campus.
“I condemn the anti-Semitic protests,” Biden said on April 22.
“I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” he said, attempting to strike a delicate balance when it comes to the conflict in Gaza.
If the large-scale protests and clashes with police persist into the fall, however, they could pose a significant challenge to his reelection bid.
—Emel Akan
BOOKMARKS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept Israeli negotiators’ offer for a limited ceasefire on April 29, The Epoch Times’ Ryan Morgan reports. The temporary pause would be conditioned upon the release of hostages Hamas took from Israel on Oct. 7.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s third-party presidential bid is turning heads, The Epoch Times’ Russ Jones reports. Polling suggests that the independent is drawing support from both Democrats and Republicans, though it remains difficult to pinpoint who stands the most to lose by his presence in the race.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Biden administration over its recent expansion of Title IX sexual discrimination protections, The Epoch Times’ Jana Pruet reports. The administration, Paxton says, exceeded its authority and violated the law with its implementation of the new rule.
The Supreme Court has rejected tech billionaire Elon Musk’s attempt to challenge the terms of a deal he struck with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Epoch Times’ Matthew Vadum reports. Musk had claimed the SEC was engaged in an “ongoing campaign” against him.
More than two dozen legal veterans have teamed up to take on big government, The Epoch Times’ Kevin Stocklin reports. The lawyers of the New Civil Liberties Alliance argued four cases of alleged federal overreach in front of the Supreme Court last year, of which three are pending and one was decided in their favor.
