House Republicans released 5,000 hours more of security footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Friday, but Speaker Mike Johnson announced — in a reversal — that the House Administration Committee will no longer blur the faces of individuals in the footage.
“Additionally, upon extensive further consultation with the Committee, and at my direction, the Committee will no longer plan to blur the faces of individuals in the footage given the significant logistic hurdles involved and the importance of getting this work completed as responsibly and efficiently as possible,” Johnson said in a statement.
House Administration Committee Chairman Barry Loudermilk said in a statement that the decision will “significantly expedite CCTV footage releases, all of which will be made available to the American public within the next few months, without blurring or editing.”
“The first batch is already available on our Rumble page,” Loudermilk said.
Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021.
Jose Luis Magana/AP, FILE
Johnson previously announced in December he instructed the House Administration Committee to blur the complete surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 attack in order to protect participants from being charged by law enforcement.
“We have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the [Department of Justice] and to have other, you know, concerns and problems,” Johnson, who joined some other Republicans in seeking to overturn former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, Johnson said at a press conference in December.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson discusses President Joe Biden’s policies at the Mexican border during a news conference at the Capitol, Feb. 29, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Later, in a statement issued on social media soon after, a spokesman for Johnson, Raj Shah said, “Faces are to be blurred from public viewing room footage to prevent all forms of retaliation against private citizens from any non-governmental actors. The Department of Justice already has access to raw footage from January 6, 2021.”
Federal investigators have possession of unblurred footage, which they have used to help identify and charge suspects in the riot.
More than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with Jan. 6, according to the Department of Justice.
The Jan. 6 security tapes became of high interest in conservative circles in 2023 when then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson used some of the surveillance footage, released to him by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, to try and downplay the rioting as peaceful.
In November, Trump applauded Johnson for releasing the the tapes.
“Congratulations to Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson for having the Courage and Fortitude to release all of the J6 Tapes, which will explicitly reveal what really happened on January 6th!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in an internal memo at the time that Carlson’s coverage of the tapes was “filled with offensive and misleading conclusions.”
The House Administration Committee is expected to continue releasing the remaining footage online for the public to access. Republicans plan to re-upload any footage that has been blurred.
House Republicans have released unblurred footage from the January 6th Capitol riot, showcasing the violent actions of the rioters who stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The release of these tapes comes after months of debate and controversy surrounding the events of that fateful day.
The footage, which was previously only available in a heavily redacted form, provides a more detailed and unfiltered view of the chaos and destruction that unfolded as rioters breached the Capitol building. The videos show individuals breaking windows, vandalizing offices, and engaging in physical altercations with law enforcement officers.
The decision to release the unblurred footage was met with mixed reactions from both sides of the political aisle. Some Republicans argue that the footage provides a more accurate portrayal of the events of January 6th and highlights the need for a thorough investigation into the riot. Others, however, believe that releasing the footage could further inflame tensions and politicize the issue.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy defended the decision to release the unblurred tapes, stating that transparency is crucial in understanding what happened on January 6th. He also called for a bipartisan investigation into the events of that day to ensure accountability and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The release of the unblurred footage comes as Congress continues to grapple with how to address the aftermath of the Capitol riot. Several congressional committees are conducting investigations into the events of January 6th, and there have been calls for a bipartisan commission to further examine the causes and consequences of the riot.
Overall, the release of the unblurred Jan. 6 tapes by House Republicans sheds new light on the events of that day and underscores the need for a thorough and transparent investigation into the Capitol riot. As Congress continues to grapple with how to address the fallout from January 6th, it is clear that a comprehensive understanding of what happened is essential in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
